Skies of Arcadia: The Ruins of Tal'Kalen
by Future Reminiscence
Summary: After Soltis, a new adventure unfolds for Vyse and company. But can allies old and new help them defeat an ancient evil? Action, humor, and romance await. Chapter Seven now available at a new low price!
1. Prologue: Restless Souls

Disclaimer- The usual, I don't own Skies of Arcadia or Sega. But I do own some of the character in this story, including Maiev, Morgan, and their crews. Read and Review please.

Skies of Arcadia: The Ruins of Tal'Kalen

****

Prologue: Restless Souls

"Are you sure this is worth the risk, Cap'n? I mean, this is some pretty stuff that's about to go down. I don't think we even have enough manpower to do it."

"Don't worry about it. No, we don't have enough men on the crew to do this by ourselves. But I don't plan on doing this by ourselves."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we're going to let someone else do all the 'heavy lifting' you might say. "

"How will we get someone to do that?"

"Don't worry about that, just leave it all to me. We have just have to pull on the strings of exploration in a man's mind. But not just any man, mind you. I have someone special lined up for this."

"Well...all right then Cap'n. I can't say that I agree with you on this, but you've never led me astray before. I'll go along with you."

"Good, very good. We'll begin preparations in the morning."

*** Two Nights Later ***

Domingo sighed as he took the last swig of loqua from his bottle. He continued to stare at the table as he lifted his cigar back to his mouth. He looked deep in thought as he slowly puffed on the cigar. _Hell. That trade route was bound to die. I thought it would last longer than these measly few months, but you have to take what you can get. At least I only lost it, and not The Discovery. The only way anyone could ever take her from me is if they killed me._

Domingo's thoughts kept him from noticing that the other patrons of Gordo's Bistro had already left. Only him and Gordo were left in the restaurant. Gordo walked to the other end of the bar and took a seat across from Domingo. In between bites of a Sardis Sandwich he said, "Domingo, you have been quiet during your stay. It is not like you to be so reserved. Is there something troubling your mind?"

Domingo looked up slightly shaken, snapped back into reality. He blinked his eyes a few times and peered about the bar, seeing only himself and Gordo were left. Domingo cleared his throat. "Er..ahem. Sorry, What id you say Gordo? I was drifting."

Gordo smiled as polished off the sandwich. "I asked you if there was anything wrong. You've been very quiet during your stay, and that's not like you," Gordo said again as he rubbed the sandwich crumbs off of his hands.

Domingo gave a slight shrug. "I dunno, Gordo. My mind may be a little clouded right now. Between Drachma dying and losing my trade route, I'm not exactly in the best state right now." Gordo nodded. "But I do feel in an inner urge. I feel like it is time for me to go back out into Arcadia and set my title of World's Greatest Explorer in stone."

Gordo gave a slight laugh. "Hah, Domingo my friend, I knew you were going to say that. I knew it was only a matter of time before you swept up your ashes and got back on with your voyages. I might be losing my best costumer for awhile, but maybe you'll find something good and will actually be able to pay me off."

Domingo gave a wry smile. "Yeah, sure Gordo. I'll try and bring you some new exotic foods from my adventures."

Gordo laughed. "That's why I always enjoyed having you here. You're always good for a laugh. So, were exactly do you plan on going?"

Domingo gave another shrug. "Not sure to tell you the truth. I could really start anywhere and just be on my way."

Gordo smiled. "Well, Domingo, I have come across some information regarding the ruins of an Old World city."

Domingo slightly raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"Apparently the ruins are located out in the deserts of Nasr. While it may be a long and difficult journey, the ruins of Tal'Kalen are said to be perfectly preserved in the sand of the desert. I'm sure if you could find it, the Sailor's Guild would pay you very handsomely. Besides, who knows what vast amounts of treasure you may find piled high in the city?"

Domingo rubbed his chin thoughtfully before looking back up to Gordo with a smirk. "Well, it sounds like I'm going looking for ancient ruins then, doesn't it? So...what do I owe you for this information?"

Gordo chuckled. "Think nothing of it. Call it a gift from an old friend. Though if you can find any exotic animals to bring back for me to cook, I would greatly appreciate it."

Domingo smiled and stood up. "All right then. I'm off early tomorrow morning; I want to get there as fast as possible. If I don't see you before then, so long until I return a rich man," Domingo boasted while heartily shaking Gordo's hand. He then walked out of the bar, and headed for his room.

Gordo sighed as he looked down at the table. "He forgot to pay me again. For an adventurer, he sure has a bad memory."

Vyse looked up towards the bright red moon that hovered over Crescent Island. He was sitting down on the cape with his back shoved up against the flagpole bearing his symbol: a skull with an eye patch and a cutlass clenched in its teeth.

Vyse sighed and thoughtfully chewed on his bottom lip as stared into the moon. It was the six-month anniversary of Soltis tomorrow. It was also the two-month anniversary of Drachma's death. The Captain's death had struck Vyse hard, but not as hard as it seemed to hit Aika. He was going to miss Drachma. He'd died in his sleep, and that's how Vyse thought Drachma had wanted to go.

Vyse took a deep breath of the fresh night air. He hadn't been able to fall asleep, and had decided to come out here and try to clear his mind. He was left with the lingering feelings of victory, loss, and love. He also felt like he needed something more. He was tired of just raiding Black Pirate ships, and was ready to start on a new journey.

Aika sighed deeply as she stared up at the ceiling. She laid upon her bed in her usual night clothes, nothing but a pair of black shorts and a pink tank top that left her midriff exposed. She gave a tug at her shorts and sighed again. These dark and lonely nights were what she lived for when she wasn't off with Vyse and Fina adventuring. She felt a certain peace and serenity when she was by herself.

As it usually happened during these nights, her thoughts began to drift to Vyse. Aika loved Vyse. She had known that he was the only one in the world for her seven years ago when they first met The Angel of Death and he'd sacrificed himself for her safety. She could never thank Vyse enough for that, and she could never do enough to fully pay him back in her mind. She loved Vyse as a brother. She loved him as a friend. But most importantly, she loved him as more than a friend. But therein lied the problem, as she wasn't so sure if Vyse loved her in the same account.

Fina sat up on her bed and rubbed her eyes. She couldn't seem to fall asleep tonight, which was a rarity for her. She was usually capable of drifting right off when she wanted to. Fina tilted her head back and stared up at the ceiling. Her thoughts darted back and forth: from Ramirez to the Elder's sacrifice to Vyse. She laid back as her thoughts stopped upon Vyse. Vyse was the person that Fina trusted and loved more than anyone else. Her mouth turned upwards into a dream-like smile when she thought about Vyse. He was the one who had shown her the truth of this world, that not everyone was a low life backstabber like the Elder's had first told her. He showed her everything there was about life.

Fina stood up and went to the door. She had to go and see Vyse, if just to say hello. Granted, just saying hello at this time of night would seem very out of place and odd, she felt she had to do it anyways. She opened her door, walked out, and crept past Aika's room. Before sneaking over to Vyse's room she looked out to the cape and saw him sitting there. Fina smiled as she walked along the stone path up to the cape, a breeze softly blowing the fringes of her white, figure hugging night gown.

Aika had the same thoughts as Fina. A few minutes after Fina had decided to take a walk to the cape, Aika decided to as well. But upon looking out over the balcony, she spotted Vyse and Fina sitting together. She nibbled upon her lip and sighed dejectedly. Fina was the only thing stopping her and Vyse from being together. And even though it felt so right, sometimes she wondered if it was meant for them to be at all. She turned her head and looked up towards the meeting room, and saw Kirala peering out at the couple. Good old Kirala, only her and Pow had stayed on the island after Soltis. Aika was grateful for that; they had came to be pretty close friends. Well, she wasn't getting to sleep anytime soon, and Kirala wasn't exactly who she wanted to talk to, but anything would help ease her insomnia.

The elevator finally stopped at the meeting room level. Aika walked towards Kirala and leaned forward upon the railing beside her. Kirala was still wearing her standard daytime affair.

"Hey Kirala."

"Hey Aika."

They stood there staring out into the sky for a few moments before Kirala spoke up. "Is there something bothering you, Aika? Something you wanna get off of your chest?"

Aika sighed. "I dunno Kirala. There's a lot I need to get off of my chest, but I keep thinking the burden is better kept on my shoulders."

Kirala looked at her and frowned slightly. "Hun, that's no way to go about. True, sometimes things need to be bottled up. But some are too important for that. They need to be expressed freely."

Aika went back to nibbling on her bottom lip again. After a few more moments of silence, Aika nodded her head. "You're right. Thanks Kirala. Sometimes I think you're a visionary."

Kirala smiled. "Hey, it's just my Yafutoman heritage. We're known for giving this sage like advice."

Both the girls laughed. Aika started for the elevator again. Before she could get there, Kirala spoke up. "Hey, wait a minute." Aika stopped and turned back around. "I don't know what you have planned, but I know who you have it planned for. Just be careful about what you say."

Aika nodded. "I will."

"Oh, and one more thing. I heard about something from a traveler in Nasrad today before I came back. Apparently there are rumors popping up about ancient ruins from an Old Civilization that dwelt under the Red Moon. I guess they lie somewhere in the deserts of Nasr. A handsome Blue Rogue was the one who told me about it. Maybe if you told Vyse about this, it would spark an old fire in him."

Aika put on a grin from ear to ear. "You're right, Kirala. Besides, who knows what kind of treasure we might find in a place like that? Thank you for your help." Kirala just gave a knowing smile as Aika took the elevator back down. Kirala sighed. The kid had all the heart in the world, a sense of humor, and a body other women would kill for. But all of that might not be enough to win over the heart of the man she loved.

At the same time Aika and Kirala were talking, Fina had made her way up to the cape. She had pretended not to see Vyse. He spoke up in surprise when he saw her. "Fina, what are you doing up so late?"

She looked back in a moment of faked surprise. "Oh, Vyse! You scared me."

"Sorry about that."

"It's quite alright. I'm just a little jumpy this late is all. I...I couldn't sleep and I thought that this would be a nice place to relax until I could."

Vyse smiled. "Then come and sit by me, I can't sleep either." Fina smiled and gladly took a seat beside him. They enjoyed a few minutes in peace before Vyse spoke up again. "So...what's on your mind?"

"I'm not really sure. I've just had thoughts of all of our journeys flashing through my mind lately. I feel like it's time to start a new one."

Vyse smiled. "Now you're talking my language. I've been thinking the same thing. How about tomorrow we pack up and just set sail. We don't need a flight plan or any specific objective, let's just go."

Fina smiled. "That's my Vyse. Always ready for an adventure." Fina gave a slight giggle. Then her facial features changed, and she cleared her throat. "Um...something else that I've been thinking about lately is..." Vyse looked up, his interest again sparked. "Well, lately, I've been thinking a lot of you. Thinking of how we first met, when you and Aika saved me from Alfonso's ship. Then how we started off looking for the moon crystals, and how you showed me the whole world and what it was like to have someone honestly care for you. And...thank you. I can never repay you enough for everything you've done for me, Vyse." With that she leaned against Vyse, and he wrapped his arm around her, not saying a word. They both looked up at the Red Moon with smiles. 

But this still weighed heavy on Vyse's mind. He loved Fina so much...but there was also Aika. each girl had successfully taken half of his heart, and neither side was likely to give theirs away. _This will only cause pain and heartbreak_ Vyse thought morosely. But he showed no signs of inner battle as he continued looking up at the sky.

_Dear Journal,_

It looks like we are in line for quite a bit of intrigue and excitement. A handsome man walked past me today and saw the Blue Rogues patch on my jacket. Upon seeing this, he stopped and introduced himself as Morgan, a fellow Blue Rogue. He said that he'd come across some information on an ancient temple in Nasr. He decided that he would share this information with me. He'd told me that no one else had yet heard of this temple besides him. Needless to say, his stories really struck a chord with me. Tales of the ancient city and what treasures it might hold certainly have peaked my interest. In the morning my crew and I will be heading from Maramba to the Nasr desert in hopes of finding these ruins. I mean, who am I to pass up on such a challenge? The need for seeing the world has always ran thick in the blood of my family. Besides, who am I to pass up treasure? Jewels are a woman's best friend after all.

Maiev


	2. Leaving

Disclaimer- See Prologue. Indeed. Read and Review please.

Skies of Arcadia: The Ruins of Tal'Kalen

Chapter One: Leaving

Aika was sitting in the tavern quietly eating her breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, a few strips of bacon, and a biscuit. Aika lifted the biscuit and bit down upon, only to recoil from it holding her mouth. "OW! Damn, that is incredibly stale...well, no use just wasting it." Aika simply slipped the biscuit under the table into the eager teeth of Pow. "That's a good dog." Aika giggled quietly before digging back in.

A few moments later, Vyse opened the door and sleepily stumbled to the table, taking a seat across from Aika. Aika smiled at him from across the table. Her hair was still down. "Good morning Vyse."

"Good morning Aika," he said groggily. 

Aika giggled again. "Pleasure seeing you up this morning. The only time you're ever up this early is if we're going somewhere. Or if your father is around."

Vyse smiled. "Yeah, it is pretty early still. Is Fina up yet?"

Aika shook her head. "No, I haven't seen her up. So, tell me, Vyse. What's so special that you got up early for?"

Vyse smiled and scratched his head. "Well, Fina and I had a talk last night. We both decided that it's time to start out on a new journey. We don't know where to, or what for. We just plan on going and traveling."

"And would I be invited on this trip?" Aika asked giving Vyse the sad puppy dog look.

"Heh, of course you are. When I say 'we,' that includes you."

Aika smiled. "Well that sure is a relief. I've been itching to get back out into the skies and see what treasure awaits us out there." Vyse laughed. "Wait a second though...did you say you didn't have a flight plan?"

"Yes."

"Well, I may just have one for you. I spoke with Kirala last night, and she said she'd come across some valuable information is Nasrad."

"Such as?"

"She heard a rumor that out in the Nasr deserts lies the ruins of an Old World city. Another Blue Rogue told her, but I guess she didn't catch his name. Apparently if you can scour the deserts enough to find them, they're filled with ancient treasures and artifacts. I'm sure the Sailor's Guild would love to know its location as well. Vyse, this could be the one that makes us rich!"

Vyse rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmmm...I'm up for it. Sounds good to me." 

Aika smiled to Vyse. "That's great. That's the Vyse I've come to know, always up to a challenge." Aika stood up and took her plate over to the sink and washed it off. Turning over her shoulder she asked, "Vyse, do you want anything while I'm up?"

"No, that's ok Aika. If we're going to leave today we'd better get started loading up the ship."

"But Cap'n, you can't just set out on an empty stomach. At least you won't throw it all back up like Enrique."

Vyse laughed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Just bring over some of those biscuits, they'll be fine."

Aika picked up a couple and sat back down at the table. "Have fun trying to bite through those things. Pow even had a-"

"Pow?"

"Ah...Pow? Who said Pow?" Aika gave a fake nervous laugh. Vyse only smiled.

As he started eating, Aika started to daydream. She would glance over at Vyse occasionally and think _Wow. He really is handsome. Maybe...yes. I should tell him now. There's no one around to interrupt us, and I can't hold this in much longer._

Aika immediately straightened up in her chair and put on a sober face. Her voice had a trail of nervousness in it. "Um...Vyse. I...I uh, have something that I need to talk to you about."

Vyse looked up. "Alright, what is it?"

"Well...ah...ok. Vyse, I just have to let-" she was cut off as the tavern door opened and Fina stepped in. _Dammit._ "Um...I'll tell you later..." Vyse nodded.

"Hey Fina. Come on, have a seat," Vyse motioned. Fina smiled sleepily and took the seat next to Vyse.

"Tell Fina about the trip, Vyse. I'm going to go find Kirala and start loading the ship." Vyse nodded and the pair shared a smile as she walked out.

Fina looked puzzled. "Trip? What trip?"

Vyse smiled. "Last night when we discussed about setting sail again, we didn't know where we would end up. Kirala told Aika about a discovery that could push us into the territory of freaking rich if we can find it before anyone else."

Fina emerald pools lit up. "Really? Where is this place?"

"Well, we're not exactly sure. Aika told me that Kirala heard about it from another Blue Rogue. Apparently the ruins of ancient civilization called Tal'Kalen lie somewhere in the deserts of Nasr. If we could find it, the Sailor's Guild would surely send plenty of gold our way. Plus we could keep any of the treasures we find there."

Fina stared at the table, seemingly deep in thought. "Tal'Kalen...Tal'Kalen...oh my. Now I remember. I remember reading about it back in the Great Silver Shrine. It was never destroyed by the Rain of destruction, but preserved."

Now it was Vyse's turn to look puzzled. "Preserved? How could that be? Was it built like Glacia?"

"No. Before the Rains of Destruction ever reached the city, the tremors sent by the Rains' pounding sunk the whole city under the sands. It is said that everyone that lived there died, with one exception, but the city itself remained perfectly preserved. There is supposedly a swirling vortex of sand that takes on a fluorescent color that hovers above the cities location."

Vyse smiled. "Well, it doesn't sound like anything that we couldn't handle. Wait...you said with one exception?"

"Wait, there's more to it than that. It is said that one powerful mage survived the tremors and sinking. It has been told that he has created a powerful demon to protect the city against anyone foolish enough to try and steal from it. The Demon doesn't have a normal name, but rather a title. I believe he was called The Unholy Legion. That really doesn't make much sense though since it's just one creature. The vortex is also the work of the mage."

Vyse's face drooped into a slight frown almost immediately. "Well, that just puts a damper on things, doesn't it?" The two shared a laugh at this. "Hey, do you want anything to eat before we go? If not, I'm going to go help Aika and Kirala load up The Journeyer." 

Fina merely shook her head. "No, go on. I'll be out to help in a bit. Also, I need to talk to you later. In private."

Vyse nodded before walking out of the tavern. After he shut the door behind him, an leaned up against it and swore silently to himself. If they both wanted to tell him what he thought they were going to tell him, he was in for heartache and one hell of a headache.

Domingo breathed in the fresh air as deeply as he could. The only feeling in the world better than the fresh air sweeping past your face was finding a new piece mystery in history. He planned on staying out on the deck for most of the trip to Nasrad. His ship was large, but he was a one-man crew all by himself. His ship also had an autopilot system that made his life infinitely easier. The Discovery may not have been the newest toy in the store, but it was top of the line in quality.

Domingo raised his telescope to his eye and looked out through the sky. He would be to Nasrad by the next morning. Knowing that he might be on the verge of making a monumental discovery, Domingo got pretty excited. To quell this he spent most of the day drinking large amounts of loqua and occasionally firing his pistol into the endless blue. Randomly firing guns and raucously singing old sailor's tunes were a good way to pass time while drunk.

Maiev stood on the Maramba pier admiring her ship, The Vashj. That ship was her absolute pride and joy, and what she had worked so hard in her life for. It was a medium sized ship, made mostly of steel with The Vashj painted on the side in bold purple letters. Her ship was easily the best looking of those docked in Maramba.

Maiev, like her ship, was one of the prettiest in the bunch. She wasn't old at all, especially for a captain, at only about nineteen years of age, and had slightly bronzed skin and dazzling purple eyes. Her sandy brown hair hung down below her shoulders. On top of her curvy form she wore a purple tank top, a blood red light flight jacket, a pair of black leather pants, a pair of black leather boots to match, tanned gloves, and had a pair of blood red flight goggles sitting on top of her head.

"All right! Everyone in line! Roll call!" Maiev suddenly shouted. Her crew immediately lined up for roll. Upon the sight of her crew, one would immediately notice that almost the whole crew was made up of women. There was only one man aboard the ship, and many of the crewmembers weren't really sure as to why or how he ever got onto Maiev's crew in the first place, let alone as a navigator. "Second in command Angela!"

A tall, slim, athletically built blonde woman wearing a red tank top and red cargo pants stepped forward and shouted, "Aye Aye Cap'n Maiev!" Everyone down the list would answer the same way.

"Helmswoman Tyrande!" A slim woman with glasses and blue hair stepped forward. She wore a blue flight vest and a white long sleeve shirt. A pair of blue flight goggles lie strapped across her head as well. "Gunners Alexia, Raze, and Teresa!" Three identical looking women stepped forward. They were one of the only pairs of triplets born in Maramba in recent history, and they all shared a tall figure and blue eyes. The only way of telling them apart was their hair color. Alexia dyed hers blonde, Raze dyed hers red, and Teresa kept her a natural black. They all wore identical black uniforms. "Delegate Jasmine!" A short woman with purple dyed hair and a pair of flight goggles strapped across her eyes stepped forward and answered. Her petite frame was covered by a purple uniform. "Builder Christina!" A mid-sized woman with blonde hair that wore a blue flight vest and tanned gloves stepped forward. She was one of the most talented builders in Arcadia, and was sought out by Enrique and Moegi of Valua. She thought this to be mostly because she had once lived in Upper Valua, but tired of the life and escaped. "Artisan Usaki!" A woman of obvious Yafutoman decent stepped forward. She was wearing traditional Yafutoman dress. She was the newest addition to Maiev's crew. "Lookout Jade!" A woman with dyed green hair and an even curvier body that Maiev stepped forward. She was wearing a pair of black cargo pants and a bright green tank top, both of which accentuated her curves nicely. She held in her desire to answer with a 'For what?' and answered in regular fashion. She was the joker and lighthearted member of the crew. "And lastly, Navigator Apoc!" Apoc stepped forward and answered, but then under his breath muttered 'Why do I always get called last...' He was the only male member of the crew. Only Maiev really know what he looked like. He always wore a dark trench coat with a belt holding various throwing knives strapped around the outside, and a large floppy hat black as the night that covered his eyes. He then wore a deep blue bandana over the rest of his face. "Oh, lighten up Apoc. You should be happy I even let you on my crew." The girls got a laugh out of this. Apoc only kicked the dirt.

"Well, it isn't fair. Being a navigator is very important and hard work. I don't get treated with the kind of respect I should."

"In all due respect, Apoc, you do your job wonderfully. But you really do bitch about it too much. Lighten up a little," Maiev taunted. The rest of the girls continued to laugh while Apoc just continued to angrily mutter to himself.

After a moment of two or silence, Jade spoke up. "Um...Cap'n Maiev. You called us all here, and we loaded up the ship, but you haven't yet told us where exactly we're off to."

"Yes, that information would be important," said Alexia.

"Indeed it would," chided Raze.

"So exactly where are we going?" questioned Teresa.

Maiev laughed lightly. "Why, ladies and ungentleman, we are off to find the ruins of an ancient civilization. And since we're going to get their first, we're going to be the richest girls on the planet because no one can keep pace with The Vashj. We'll be bathing in jewels and diving into pools of gold. Doesn't that sound exciting?"

All of the girls' eyes lit up. Jasmine spoke out. "Really? I mean really! We're actually going to go looking for adventure and mystery and intrigue-"

"And love?" Tyrande chimed in.

"-Yes and love and we're going to be the richest people in all of Arcadia? Rich enough to take baths in our gold?" Jasmine finished.

Maiev giggled. "Maybe not people, I haven't decided how much of the share Apoc will get yet. But yes, we will be the richest women in Arcadia."

Apoc grunted while the girls started to carry on. "Oh my, a life of luxury awaits us! What are we waiting for let's go!" shouted Christina.

The normally quiet and shy Usaki also chimed in, "Yes, let's get a move on we don't have all day!"

The girls started to get carried away with their delusions of grandeur before Angela calmed them down. "Come on now ladies, we have to reach the ruins and hoard everything there first. We're not quite rich yet."

Jade sighed. "Oh well thanks a lot Angela. You just took the cloud right out from under my feet." All of the girls giggled.

"Like it or not, girls, it's the truth. We aren't rich yet. And if you keep carrying on, everyone else in Maramba will know about it as well," Maiev said with a slight bitterness in her tongue.

"Yes, everyone else will know if you keep shouting about it. I told you this because I thought you could keep it a secret."

Maiev turned around with a gasp. Standing before her was the young Blue Rogue who had told her about the ruins.

"Who the hell is he?" shouted Jade.

"I am the reason you even know about the ruins," the Blue Rogue quipped casually. "Now, Maiev was it? I don't think I ever actually properly introduced myself." Maiev shook her head. "Well, in that case, Maiev of the Blue Rogues, I am Morgan of the Blue Rogues. Pleasure to meet your crew. Rowdy as Black Pirates to say the least."

Jade and Angela glared daggers at Morgan while the rest of the crew simply muttered under their voices. "Well, we may be as rowdy as Black Pirates, but we could take them in a fight any day of the week. Just like I could take you in a fight. Come on, right here, one on one," Jade shouted.

"Yeah, and after she's done beating you senseless, it's my turn!" shouted Angela. The rest of the crew nodded in agreement.

Morgan snorted. "Is this the kind of treatment I get after delivering such valuable information to a crew of beautiful women?"

"I think he's just trying to get into our pants," Tyrande said. All the other girls laughed uproariously. 

Maiev managed to keep her laughter to a giggle. "I'm quite sorry, Morgan. My crew takes kindly to some and not to others-"

"Damn right!" shouted Angela.

"- As you can well see already. But, they do bring up a point, Morgan. Exactly why did you choose to share this information with me?"

"Well, I might as well be honest with you. You're quite an attractive woman. When I saw that you were also a Blue Rogue, I felt that I was only doing the right thing in letting you know my little secret. Just helping a fellow Air Pirate," Morgan said, sounding almost hurt in his words.

"You think he's serious?" Usaki whispered to Jade.

"Nah, I still think he's just trying to show Maiev his O-face." The whole crew giggled at Jade's statement.

"Oh, don't listen to them. They always like this in front of men. I'm not entirely sure why, but I do thank you deeply for this information. Though it does seem weird to me that you would give up such information, especially to a person you really don't know."

"Well, If my crew and me are unable to find the ruins for ourselves, we want someone else to find them. And Moon willing it would be another Blue Rogue."

"That bastard is going looking for the ruins too!" Christina said.

"Yeah! He's probably just going to follow our trail because he knows we'll be able to find it," Tyrande said.

"That's ok, we'll leave him in the dust with The Vashj," Alexia, Raze, and Teresa all said at the same time.

"I still do get creeped out when all of you speak in unison like that," Jade said.

"I agree," Usaki said shyly. The triplets only shrugged.

Maiev was unable to hold in her laughter. After she composed herself again, she put her hand out to Morgan. "Really lad, we do appreciate this information greatly. Just know that we won't cut you any slack when it comes to finding these ruins because of it though."

Morgan took Maiev's hand and shook it. "I doubt you will be the one's cutting any slack. Just keep heading north from here, and you should soon come across it. I must ready my crew now, so I bid you adieu," he said as he brought Maiev's hand up to his mouth and lightly placed a kiss upon her gloved hand before turning face and walking back towards town. Maiev stood staring at her hand.

"Exactly what the hell was that?" questioned Jasmine.

"Yeah, who the hell does he think he is," shouted Angela.

"Just coming out and kissing Cap'n Maiev's hand like that? What is that all about?" Tyrande complained. "Wait, Christina. Do they do that in Valua? They do, don't they? He must be Valuan then."

"That doesn't exactly make a better case for him," Jade said. The rest of the girls giggled.

"It's alright ladies. We'll just have to show him up by finding those ruins first, now won't we?" Maiev said, once again regaining her composure.

"Yeah, we have to show that jerk what were made of!" Tyrande and Angela cried out at the same time. 

"Yeah, he'll see that we're the best crew ever assembled!" Jasmine said.

"Now come on Jasmine," Alexia said.

"Indeed, let's be realistic here," Raze followed.

"Yes, the crew that Vyse the Legend assembled during Soltis was the best ever," quipped Teresa.

All of the girls nodded solemnly. "I sure wish I could meet Vyse the Legend," Christina said.

"Yeah, he's a real dreamboat," Jade said dreamily.

"Yeah, but he hangs around with those two other broads, Aika and Fina. I don't blame him though, the best always travel with the best," Angela sighed. The rest of the girls followed suit.

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but when are we gonna get this show on the road? My feet are getting tired standing up here not doing anything," Apoc called down from the ship. He had gotten bored and decided to just get on while everyone quarreled.

"Not doing anything? Sounds exactly like you, Apoc," Jade snickered.

Maiev laughed. "Alright everyone, for once in his miserable life, Apoc is right. Let's go make...or would it be find history? Well, I dunno. But let's go!" The whole crew cheered and then ran aboard the ship, eager to get started and get rich.

"Bloody hell, that was embarrassing standing up there in front of those dumb wenches and getting ridiculed," Morgan complained. 

"Ah, what's it matter? Everything is gonna be just fine. Shall we begin boarding Cap'n?"

"Yes. Roll call!" Morgan shouted. His crew lined up immediately, and followed the same procedure as Maiev's crew had. "Second in Command Gix!" A tall man who was a little flabby around the gut and wearing a green vest stepped forward. "Helmsman Lupe!" A man of obvious Maramban descent stepped forward and saluted. If his flight goggles weren't covering his eyes, you would have been able to see the deep purple in them. "Gunners Trey, Azinzas, and Yoshi!" Three men of differing heights and backgrounds- Valuan, Nasarian, and Yafutoman stepped forward. "Sailor Wildro!" A short fat man stepped forward, his bald head gleaming in the morning sun. "Builder Arlo!" A regular looking man wearing white pants stepped forward. "Lookout Sega!" An average sized man wearing a bight green flight vest and a pair of bright green flight goggles stepped forward. "Navigator Birbry!" a Hortekan man stepped forward, and the green war paint on his chest and face shined in the morning sunlight.

"Alright then. Men, you know what we're up to, and I don't plan on leaving this mission unsuccessful. Now let's go!" A cheer rose from the men as they headed down to the port and to Morgan's ship, The Red Dawn, which looked old but had all the new technology.

Morgan smiled to himself before going off after his crew. He had it all right now. A feisty crew, a good ship, a bottomless pocket, and devilish looks and charm. Not many girls could resist his smooth words and blue eyes, let alone his well muscled body and blonde hair. But this Maiev and her crew, they were something else. But Morgan wasn't sure if he liked that something else. Smiling again, he took off down to the docks.

"Everything is in order Cap'n! We're ready to sail whenever you are!" Aika said cheerfully. She was excited to get back into the skies.

"Ok then. Is everyone ready?" Vyse asked.

A cry of 'Aye Aye!' rose from the assembled company of Aika, Fina, and Kirala, who had decided to partake on this journey as well. Pow barked excitedly.

"Well then, let's go make history...again!" Vyse called as he gave the wheel a full spin.

"Aye Aye!"

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Author's Note: The action will start next chapter. Really, it will. No, seriously. 

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Author's Other Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I need a fire under my feet to keep me going.


	3. Alliance of the Blue Rogues

Disclaimer- Same ol' same ol' You know the routine. Please read and review.

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Skies of Arcadia: The Ruins of Tal'Kalen

Chapter Two: Alliance of the Blue Rogues

Gilder took in a deep breath of fresh air. This was the good life he'd been searching for, traveling all over Arcadia and taking in the beautiful scenery and women. "Ah, Claudia. I think you're the only girl I could ever love," Gilder said as he patted the wheel. "Well, in a non-physical way of course. Though I don't know what lengths Clara would go to. She might start following me into the bars and slipping stuff into my drinks and marry me while I'm liquored up. But I don't know if she would do that or not."

"Liquored up! Liquored up! Squawk!" Willie cawed from Gilder's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know you like loqua. You don't have to remind me."

"Cap'n Gilder! Look dead ahead. It looks like a desert funnel, but it's a weird color. It looks bright red," called one of the Claudia's crewmen.

Gilder pulled out his telescope and peered through it. "Well, that's something I've never seen before. Quite odd actually," Gilder put the telescope down. "What do you say boys, should we go check it out?"

"Hold on Cap'n!" cried the lookout.

"Huh? What is it?"

"I think we should stay put for right now. There's some Black Pirate ships headed this way...I can't see how many though."

Gilder brought the telescope back to his eyes. "One, two, three, four, five, six..." Gilder counted to himself. "I see six of them. Now what the hell do you suppose they'd be doing out here? This certainly doesn't look like a heavily used route."

"What the hell! What the hell! Squawk!"

"Yeah, we know Willy. I think you might be right. We'll turn around and watch them, try and figure out what they're doing here."

"You got it Cap'n."

The Claudia slowly decreased its altitude and away. The ships were still within sight, but the Claudia was hardly noticeable.

"How long should we wait them out, Cap'n Gilder?"

"We'll wait until sundown. If they aren't gone by then, we'll just take our business elsewhere."

_This desert really is beautiful,_ Aika thought as her scanned across the dunes. She had a perfect view from the crow's nest of The Journeyer. She began to stretch her arms out and yawn, thinking, _Yes, this certainly is as good a life to lead as one could ask for-_ She stopped in mid-thought as she took a closer look out the port side. She saw a ship headed in the same direction as The Journeyer.

Fina sighed as she longingly looked at Vyse. Maybe now was the time to talk to him about it. Aika wasn't within hearing distance of them, and Vyse seemed quite at peace when at the wheel. The more important part was that Aika wasn't around. Fina loved her dearly, but this was something that she knew she wouldn't want to hear.

Of course, they were on a mission right now. She really didn't want to queer their chances of finding Tal'Kalen. ...No. This was it. This was the time.

Just as she was about to open her mouth, Vyse spoke up. "Isn't this great, Fina? The clear skies, the picturesque desert, and the mystery of these ruins."

"Yes, it certainly is."

"And there's no one around but us three-"

"Vyse!" Aika yelled down from the crow's nest. "Look! Off the port side, another ship. It looks like it's heading the same way we are."

Vyse squinted his eyes as he looked out towards the other ship. "I can't see the flag on it. But what the hell would they be doing out here anyways? This isn't a trade route, and the closest city is Nasrad, and that's in the opposite direction. Unless..."

"What the hell would they be doing out here anyways? This isn't a trade route."

"I dunno Cap'n Maiev. I can't make out the flag on the ship yet," said Angela.

Maiev went back over to the sound tube and spoke through it. "Jade, can you make out the flag? I want to know if we're going to have a fight here or not."

A few moments later Jade's voice came from down the tube. She had an excited tone in her voice. "Oh, Cap'n Maiev, the flag is that of Blue Rogues for sure. I don't know what crew, but definitely Blue Rogues."

"Well, when you can make out the symbol, be sure to tell me," Maiev said, turning back to the bridge. "Angela, Tyrande. Who do you think it could be? Are there any other Blue Rogues who could know about these ruins?"

"Is it Morgan's ship?" asked Angela.

"No, he boasted about his ship when he told me about this. The Red Dawn it's called. I saw it in the port in Maramba, looked fairly junky is you ask me. That ship has some very fine craftsmanship."

"Well, could Morgan have shot his mouth off to other pirates?" asked Tyrande.

"I dunno. He could have. But the way he talked, he seemed like we were the only ones he'd told."

"Well, never mind with all of that. They'll be within radio distance soon, we can contact them then," Angela said. Maiev and Tyrande nodded.

Aika gave a cheerful laugh. "Haha! Vyse! That ship belongs to Blue Rogues!"

"It does? Well. At least we won't have a fight on our hands," Vyse sighed. "What do you think, Fina? Should we close in and talk to them?"

Fina nodded. "Yes, maybe they know a little bit about the area. They may be able to help us out."

"Alright, it's settled then," Vyse said as he gave the wheel a spin and headed towards the iron ship.

"Look Cap'n, that ship is turning towards us!" Tyrande cried.

"Cap'n, we have company. I can see their flag," Jade called from down the sound tube.

"Well, who is it then? We still can's see the flag from here," Maiev said slightly agitated.

"Well, look your best girls. Unless I'm sorely mistaken, that's the flag of our legendary Blue Rogue Vyse."

Maiev, Angela, and Tyrande remained silent for a few moments on the bridge. "Could it really be them? I mean, all the way out here?" Tyrande squeaked.

Maiev leaned forward, squinting her eyes, staring as hard as she could at the flag as the ship drew closer. "Skull...cutlass...eye-patch..." Maiev mumbled to herself. She coughed and the straightened up. "Well girls, it appears to be Vyse's ship alright," she said with a joyful laugh. "Angela, go down and tell the rest of the crew about our visitors. I want them all ready. We'll go out to meet them."

Angela nodded and disappeared into the lower decks for a few minutes until she came back. Tyrande carefully eased The Vashj up to the side of The Journeyer, which was mimicking the maneuver. "Alright. Tyrande? Angela? Are you ready?" They both eagerly nodded, and the trio walked onto the deck of The Vashj. Vyse and Fina were walking onto the deck as well, Pow eagerly bounding at Vyse's heel.

"Oh...wow, he's even cuter than I'd imagined," Tyrande swooned.

Maiev nudged her side. "Keep your composure ladies. It's not everyday you get to meet the people who vanquished two of the greatest evils in Arcadia history." Angela and Tyrande just nodded.

The trio walked to the end of the deck and leaned upon the ships' railing, face to face with Vyse and Fina. "Well, I must say, it is quite a pleasure to meet a crew of your standard. It isn't everyday that you get to meet the people that saved the world from evil's claws," Maiev said, her voice silky smooth.

"You make us sound like we were immortal or something," Vyse said with a laugh.

"What? You mean you aren't?" Maiev replied with her a laugh of her own.

"Well, I guess by your reaction we don't need to introduce ourselves. But just in case, I'm Vyse, captain of The Journeyer. This lovely woman here is Fina, that lovely woman up in the crow's nest-" Vyse was cut off by the sound of Aika's boots hitting the deck. She'd slip all the way down the ropes leading to the nest. Vyse chuckled. "The lovely woman who is now standing beside me is of course Aika. Our friend Kirala is below deck." A bark came from below the ship railing. "Oh, right. And down here is our scoundrel husky Pow." Pow barked again. "Now, what are the names of you fellow Blue Rogues?

Maiev smiled. "My name is Maiev, and I am captain of this ship, The Vashj. It's one of the finest ships you'll see around Arcadia."

"It is a very nice ship," Fina said with a smile.

"Yes, the craftsmanship is excellent. Whoever built it new what they were doing," Aika said, her voice with a sound of slight admiration."

"You have my father to blame for that," Maiev said with a giggle. "Now, the rest of m crew. Standing to my right is my tough-as-nails second in command, Angela." Angela smiled and pushed her golden blond hair behind her ears. "And to my left is the best helmswoman in all of Arcadia, Tyrande." Tyrande waved and pushed up her glasses.

"Well, it sounds like you're just trying to auction us off to them, Maiev. For shame, auctioning us off and not even mentioning me."

Maiev turned around and saw that Jade had come down from the crow's nest. Maiev laughed cheerfully. Pointing back to Jade she said, "And that is our lookout Jade, whose mouth is sharper and than her eyes."

"Hey! That's not very fair. My brain is sharper than both," Jade said playfully as she walked up beside Tyrande. Everyone shared a laugh at that.

"The rest of my crew is below decks, but they're pretty much like us," Maiev said. "Well, except for Apoc. But we don't mind him, and you shouldn't either when you meet him," Maiev said to the laughter of her crew.

"Well, it certainly seems like you're one of the friendlier bunches around. So what are you doing this far out in the middle of nowhere?" Aika questioned.

"Ah...just a second." Maiev pulled Angela, Tyrande, and Jade away from the railing and they went into a huddle. "Well...what should we tell them? Should we tell them the truth or make something up? I feel this should be a group decision," Maiev whispered.

"Well, it's not really a group decision if the other girls aren't here tough, is it?" whispered Tyrande.

"That's not the point. They would surely agree with us," Maiev pointed out. They all nodded.

"Ah hell. Just tell them we heard word of some ruins out here, and that they sparked our interest. Besides, we probably look really stupid huddled up like this," Jade said.

Vyse glanced over to Aika and Fina. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"Call me crazy, but I think they know about the ruins too," Aika said with a slight frown. Fina nodded knowingly.

The four girls turned back around, and resumed their positions. "Well, we heard rumors of some ruins out around this area, and it sparked our interest. We decided to come out and look for them," Maiev said, smoothness and reluctantly fighting for control of her voice.

Fina nodded. Vyse sighed slightly. "Looks like Kirala's insider info wasn't so inside."

Aika slumped her shoulders a bit. "If they know, then who could guess how many others do? These ruins may have well been looted already. It looks like another legend won't be paying out."

Maiev looked about to her crew with a look of bewilderment. She looked Vyse dead in the eyes. "You...you know about Tal'Kalen?" Vyse nodded. Maiev looked down and a feeling of rage rose in her. "Morgan," she growled angrily.

"That son of a bitch!" Angela shouted angrily.

"I can't believe he would do something like this," Tyrande muttered.

"I told you he was a jerk. Watch, the ruins probably don't even exist and he was just being a dick telling us about them," Jade said angrily. "And we were dumb enough to fall for it."

Maiev angrily pounded her fist against the railing of the ship. She looked up at Vyse, a seriousness filling her eyes. "Kirala...would you happen to know who she got this information from?"

Vyse shook his head. Aika spoke up. "I don't think she caught his name, but she said he was a Blue Rogue too."

"Hell. It must've been him then," Maiev said, her voice trembling with anger. "If and when we find him, we are going to show him not to-"

"Are you guys going to keep dwelling on the fact that you hate this Morgan so much, or are all of you ready to see if the ruins still exist?" Fina cut in. She pointed dead ahead. "Right there, the fluorescent twister. If the ruins exist anymore, that's where they'd be. Now, are we going to let some foul notions and misguided rumors stop us from finding out what's really down there, or are we going to just let those Black Pirates flying above it find out first?" 

Aika smiled and gave a laugh. "Hah! Now you're talking my language Fina! What do you say, Vyse? Maiev? Let's go show that air scum that we came for the ruins, and won't let anyone stand in our way!" Vyse nodded. Maiev did so as well, with quite a bit of eagerness flooding into her.

"Well alright then! What're we waiting for? Battle stations!" Fina called and ran towards the bridge.

Maiev and her crew ran back, ready to take their stations. Aika smiled joyfully. "Fina is becoming quite the air pirate, isn't she, Vyse?" Vyse only laughed as they ran back for the bridge.

"Oh...oh my head hurts like hell. Where am I?" Domingo asked himself as he groggily sat up inside the bridge of The Discovery. He looked around the bridge and slowly took in his surroundings. He rubbed his eyes as he stood up. "Oh, right."

He blinked a few times and looked out towards the horizon. The ship's autopilot had brought him somewhere in the Nasr desert. Peering through his telescope he muttered to himself, "I'm probably lost out here. Imagine, me, The World's Greatest Explorer, lost exploring the world." He sighed as he put down the telescope and reached into his pocket, finding a half-empty bottle of loqua and a loose cigar. He pulled the cigar out of his pocket and lit it. He puffed on the cigar slowly as he looked back through the telescope.

Dead ahead. He almost missed it, but he caught the tail end. Straight ahead a great red twister spun about over the desert, and two ships bearing Blue Rogue flags were engaging a pack of Black Pirates. He looked closer at the flags. Domingo gave a loud chuckle as he saw the flag of Vyse's ship, The Journeyer. "Vyse, old friend, back to your roots I see. Well, it looks like you could use a bit of help," Domingo elevated his voice to a shout. "And I plan on helping you!" Domingo laughed again as he put The Discovery at full speed, charging towards the fight.

"Fire!" Vyse shouted. Aika released the main cannon, and the shot slammed into the hull of one of the Black Pirate ships. Before the battle had started, the Black Pirates had fired off their usual introductory insults. But this battle was a little more interesting than your usual Black Pirate fight. Baltor was with them, and with his newly revamped Blackbeard 3. "Fire!" Vyse shouted again. Another main cannon tore through the ships hull. Vyse then immediately took on evasive maneuvers to try and shake the other Black Pirate ships off of his tail. They had only taken light damage from cannon fire, but it would eventually build up if he wasn't careful.

Maiev's eyes searched the skies intently, looking for her next target. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead and into her eyes, but she merely blinked them off. "Tyrande, conduct some evasive maneuvers. We don't want to take on a lot of damage," Maiev said before bursting out, "Fire!" Alexia, Raze, and Teresa all let loose with the ships light sub cannons. The rounds peppered the hull of a Black Pirate ship, but didn't cause a large amount of damage. Next she called out "Alexia, cast a wevlen spell at that ship." Just as she finished her statement, the hull of The Vashj was rocked by cannon fire. The wevlen spell retaliated against the ship quite nicely, knocking it well off balance.

Jade was the only one left on the outside of the ship. She stood in the crow's nest with a rifle, trying to pick off any stray crewmembers that wandered into her firing range. One pirate stepped just a little too far out onto the deck, and was met with a bullet to his shoulder. Jade gave a sigh and muttered to herself, "Keep 'em coming." Being a lookout didn't mean her eyes were the only steady part of her body.

The Journeyer let loose another round of cannon fire, severely damaging one of the enemy ships. It paid the price however as it took another direct hit to its hull. "Vyse wiped the sweat from his forehead and called out, "Let's finish that ship, it'll be one less enemy to worry about."

"You got it, Vyse," Aika replied. A moment later the boom of The Journeyer's cannons sounded again, and the round smashed directly into the enemy ship's hull, splintering the armor away and sending the ship into flames. "Haha! One down, five to go," Aika yelled before the ship was hit with another round of cannon fire.

"Vyse you pathetic dog, today I shall finally slay you! You have no chance for survival this time!" Baltor screamed at the top of his lungs. "All gunners, open fire on The Journeyer! We shall be destroying Vyse for good today!"

The Black Pirates never saw The Claudia rise from the sand behind them. Gilder gave a lighthearted laugh. "Alright men, get to your stations. It looks like Vyse needs us to save his butt again!" Once his crew left to go below deck, Gilder spun the wheel and gritted his teeth. "You mess with my friends, and you mess with me. And when you mess with me, you mess with Claudia! Fire!" The cannons of The Claudia opened up in a crescendo of flame. The rounds smashed against three of the Black Pirate ships, scoring direct hits to their back ends.

Vyse laughed triumphantly. "Well, what do you know. Gilder has decided to come and help us out. Fire!" The Journeyer rocked again as the main cannons slammed into another enemy ship.

"Who the hell is that?" Angela said as The Claudia came into view.

"Who cares? Whoever it is, they're on our side," Tyrande noted.

Maiev nodded and focused. A green circle surrounded the ship as she cast Sacres, healing the ship back to nearly full repair. "But we're not out of the water yet," she growled.

The ship battle continued to rage on as the ships continued trading blows with one another. The Vashj looked in decent health, The Journeyer not nearly as great, and the Claudia barely even scratched. All of the Black Pirate ships had been hit pretty hard with the exception of Baltor's. But Baltor never saw what was coming right behind him.

Domingo chuckled and downed the last half of the bottle of loqua. "Here goes nothing!" He screamed as he swerved and rammed the hull of the Discovery into The Blackbeard 3. Baltor's ship took the full force of the blow, and the engines cut out. The Discovery flew on, the treasure chest flag flapping wildly in the wind.

The Blackbeard 3 started to sink below the battle, and right into the desert cyclone. Baltor could be heard screaming bloody murder about getting his vengeance on Domingo right after he killed Vyse.

Vyse laughed again. "Well, all of our old friends want to join the party I guess."

"Vyse, we have to repair soon. We can't take many more direct hits," Aika called up, a hint of urgency in her voice.

"Alright, I'll use a repair kit on the next turn. Let's hope Kirala can keep the engines cool enough."

Maiev stared in amazement as The Blackbeard sunk into the cyclone, and the medium sized wooden ship flew past them. "Who the hell was that?" Tyrande cried.

It was Maiev's turn to answer. "Who cares? Whoever it is, they're on our side." An explosion rocked The Vashj just as Maiev finished her statement. 

Christina yelled up from the bottom deck. "Cap'n, they're launching torpedoes! We're taking some extra damage from them. What are your orders?"

"Keep firing back at them! Give them everything we've got! Tyrande, let's keep The Vashj in the air. Evasive maneuvers, fast as possible." Tyrande nodded and bit down on her bottom lip in concentration.

Another torpedo rocked The Vashj. Jade almost took a tumble from the crow's nest, but ended up planted face first on its floor instead. "Damn it all. Moons, please help us out here," Jade whispered to herself, readying for the next bombardment.

Kirala ran about the engine room releasing all the steam valves, trying to keep the engines from overheating. "Pow! Bring me a wrench!" she cried over the noise. The purple husky bounded across the engine room with a wrench in his mouth. "Good dog, good dog," Kirala mumbled as she went back to work.

A blue orb surrounded The Journeyer as Vyse used a repair kit. it was enough to keep her in the battle, but she was still feeling the sting of cannon fire. "Aika! Fina! Let's try and blast them right out of the sky. One of you cast crystalen, then pyrulen." 

"You got it Vyse. I'll cast pyrulen, you have crystalen, alright?" Aika said urgently. Fina nodded and focused for her spell. A moment later a blast of purple magic exploded from the ships cannons, slamming into the hull of an enemy ship, freezing it in place. A second later, the fireball of pyrulen hit the ship and dropped it into the sand below. Aika laughed with excitement and high-fived Fina. "Yes!" they cheered at the same time. 

"That's another one down, three more to go. Well done, ladies," Vyse called smugly. "prepare for another round of cannon fire!"

Gilder laughed heartily as he saw the twin magics down another enemy ship. "Let's finish this now," he muttered, a hint of anger in his voice. "Fire all cannons!" The Claudia opened up on a Black Pirate ship, blowing massive holes through it. The ship slowly sank to the sands below, engulfed in fire. Only two ships remained.

"Look! The enemy is retreating!" Vyse shouted as the last two ships took off. They both launched a pair of torpedoes as a going away present. The torpedoes smashed into The Journeyer, and knocked her off balance. The Vashj and The Claudia were both out of position to fire at the escaping ships, and Domingo could only ram them without a crew to fire off The Discovery's cannons. Suddenly, a cannon round tore through the back end of an escaping ship. The Red Dawn flew right past it, watching as the ship dropped to the sands. "Who the hell is that?" Vyse said. "Well, whatever. As long as they're on our side."

Jade stood up from the crow's nest and screamed with delight as the last ship sputtered away. She fired a bullet into the back end of the ship, but really only to show her pride in their victory. She held the rifle with one hand over her head and cheered.

Maiev wiped the sweat from her brow and fell back into a sitting position on the cabin floor. "Well, that was a little too close for comfort." Angela and Tyrande giggles with relief. "But...whose ship was that last one...wait." The realization of who it was dawned on Maiev. "Bastard!" she screamed.

Angela glanced down at Maiev. "What? What is it?"

"That ship! That last one, that's the Red Dawn. It's Morgan's ship!" Maiev growled as she quickly got to her feet. "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind." Angela and Tyrande nodded.

Aika gave a sigh of relief and dropped to her knees. "Well, that was fun," she said, the adrenaline slowly leaving her body.

Fina sighed. "Yeah it was. Come on, let's get up on deck." Aika nodded and the two ran up to the deck.

meanwhile, down in the engine room, the trouble was just beginning. "Oh no. Oh no. Shit. We're in a real fix now," Kirala muttered urgently. The engines were about to cut loose, and they were right over the red cyclone. "Well, there's nothing left that I can do." Kirala took a few deep breaths and screamed at the top of her lungs. "Vyse! Aika! Fina! Brace yourselves, the engines are about to cut!" She hoped that they had heard her. She sat down on the floor and grabbed onto a pipe running across the floor and called Pow over. "Come on boy, get ready."

Aika and Fina stopped in mid stride going up the stairs. "Did you hear Kirala?" Fina asked, a nervous tone to her voice. 

"Oh no. Damn. Quick, get back down below. I'll get Vyse down too-" she was cut off as the engines gave a lurch, their power slipping away. "Go, now!" Aika yelled, and Fina fled back down the steps. Aika raced up as quickly as she could and ran head long into Vyse. They sat on the floor rubbing their heads in pain and surprise. "Come on Vyse, we have to hurry." The engines lurched again. "Grab onto something and hold tight," she called. They ended up hanging onto the wheel in the bridge. The engines lurched for a final time, and The Journeyer started to descend into the red cyclone, its speed increasing with every foot it dropped. Aika looked deeply into Vyse's eyes as the ship started to fall. "Vyse...if we don't make it...I want you to know...that I love you. As a brother, a friend, and as more than one." Then she grabbed one of Vyse's hands and shut her eyes as tight as she could, waiting for the final impact of The Journeyer into whatever lied at the bottom of the cyclone.


	4. Introductions and the First Trial

Disclaimer- I do not own Skies of Arcadia or any of the character outside of Maiev, Morgan, and their crews. I might let you use them in a story though if you ask nice enough.

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Skies of Arcadia: The Ruins of Tal'Kalen

Chapter Three: Introductions and the First Trial

"Oh shit," was the only thing Domingo, Gilder, and Maiev could say as they watched The Journeyer sink into the cyclone, the engines dying. Each of them watched hopelessly from their decks, unable to stop the plummet.

Domingo clenched his fists tightly and then slammed the railing of his ship as hard as he could, cursing loudly. His mind was would have been flying a million miles an hour if he wasn't still half drunk. This sobering ordeal was quickly taking away from his buzz though. The emotions of rage at the black pirates, despair for the health of his former captain and friends, and anger that his buzz had been erased so quickly swirled through his mind. He shakily fumbled into his coat and pulled out a small velvet case. He opened it up, pulled a cigar from it, closed it, and put it back into his jacket. He pulled his Zippo from his pocket and lit the cigar. He shoved the Zippo back into his pocket and ran back for the bridge.

Gilder continued to curse. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, not wanting to believe what he'd just seen. He put his glasses back on, and shading his eyes from the sun, could not see The Journeyer. It really had happened.

Maiev's eyes were stuck wide open in shock for a few moments. Blinking it off, she ran back to the bridge, just in time to hear Morgan's voice from the ship's radio.

"Well, it's pleasant seeing you again, Maiev. But I'm afraid I don't know the owners of these other two ships. Care to indulge?"

"Hey, listen man. I don't who you are, but my friend just got dropped down there, and I don't plan on letting him rot. I'm headed in, who's following me?" Gilder said with authority, almost commanding instead of asking.

"Yes, there will be time for introductions later. I'm coming to Gilder, I can't leave my former captain and friends trapped down there," Domingo said shakily.

"Good man. I knew you would come."

"I'm coming too. I don't know them very well, but they showed me courtesy and a hell of a fight," Maiev said. "I'll deal with you later, Morgan." Her voice dripped venom with these words.

"Well, since this seems to be a party, I may as well join you all as well," Morgan said.

The Claudia and The Discovery were already on their way into the re cyclone. "Tyrande, take her down," Maiev said quietly. Tyrande nodded, finally releasing the iron bit she had on her bottom lip. She wiped away the trickle of blood running down her chin and concentrated on getting The Vashj down safely. The Red Dawn followed closely behind.

Vyse never lost consciousness, and had felt the full impact of The Journeyer. It had fallen right to the bottom of the cyclone, and then farther down, beneath the sands. He laid on his back for a few minutes, his head aching terribly. _This is not good..._ he thought weakly. He sat up and looked around, seeing no real damage to the bridge area. He looked down and saw Aika, knocked out cold from the drop. A small trickle of blood ran down her forehead, and a bruise was quickly forming across her cheek. He looked down and saw that he was still tightly holding onto her hand. _Before we fell...she told me...that she...loved me? _Vyse sighed as he stared at her beautiful face. _Well, it has begun_, he thought. He gave her hand a final squeeze and got up with a groan. He put his hand to his back, and felt a large bruise forming there already as well. This adventure was not off to a promising start.

Vyse walked down the steps to the next deck. He did it rather slowly, as his legs felt bashed too. He looked over and saw Fina lying on the floor, also unconscious. He walked over and knelt beside her. He pushed some locks of silky soft hair from her face and behind her ear. He smiled slightly and sighed. _I hope you can come to soon..._ He sighed, got up, and headed for the boiler room. 

He knew it was fairly uncaring, but he gave a chuckle at the site that met his eyes down there. Kirala was flat on her back, one hand still clenched around a steam pipe. On her stomach laid the unconscious form of Pow, who must have been flipped into the air on impact and landed right on Kirala. He sighed as he looked around. The engine room looked like it had taken the most damage, and the engine's themselves looked fairly banged up. He wasn't sure if the ship would even be able to start again.

He unwrapped Kirala's hand from the pipe and carried her and Pow up two flights of stairs to the bridge. He left them in the corner until they would reawaken. He glanced over to Aika and saw that she was still out cold. He sighed as he went back below and carried Fina up to the bridge on his shoulders. He placed her beside Kirala, and hoped for the best. 

He wasn't ready to go out and look at the surroundings of this foul place they had fallen into. He sat back down next to Aika and sighed. His head had a new throbbing pain. He probably shouldn't have moved in the first place, but his friends well being was more important to him than his own. Aika moaned slightly. Vyse looked over to her, a hopeful smile creeping onto his face. She slowly picked herself up off of her stomach and got to her knees. She rubbed her temples for a few seconds before looking at Vyse. She smiled and threw herself at him, tightly grasping his neck in a friendly hug. "Vyse..." she whispered, a hint of pain in her voice. "We're alive...aren't we?"

Vyse chuckled and replied, "Yes, Aika. We're alive. To the best of my knowledge at least."

Aika smiled and hugged Vyse tightly. "I'm glad you're all right," she whispered and delivered a small peck on Vyse's cheek. Vyse sighed as he returned the hug. Aika pulled back. "Is Fina ok? What about Kirala? And Pow?" Vyse pointed to the unconscious forms in the corner. Aika nodded, inwardly knowing that they would be ok. Aika fell back into her hug.

Vyse rubbed her back before saying, "I'm going out on the deck and seeing what it's like out there. You stay here and rest. Call me if the others wake up. Ok?" Aika nodded and laid back on the floor with a groan and placed her gloved hand to her forehead.

Vyse got up shakily and walked onto the deck. The area had a misty gloom about it, and it was hard to see very far. He couldn't tell much about the construction of the place except by the soft glow of a row of torches hanging from a far wall. Vyse noticed that the ship was perfectly upright and hadn't tipped over or fell forward. He sighed in relief. At least this would make the task of escaping a little easier.

Why had they come down here again? Oh, that's right. There wasn't much of a choice in the matter. When your engines cut off, you're going down whether you like it or not. Vyse didn't even know if it was worth going through and searching the ruins with the extent of the injuries to his crew.

Vyse closed his eyes as hard as he could and rubbed his forehead. "Vyse!" _What was that..._ Vyse looked about, trying to figure out where the call had come from. He heard his name being yelled again. He blinked and tilted his head back, and saw the odd form of The Claudia descending to the ground. Vyse suddenly remembered. They weren't alone. They had friends here as well. He decided that he had forgotten about them under the duress of the situation. The Claudia landed next to the tattered form of The Journeyer. Gilder walked out from his bridge and called over to Vyse. "Vyse! Are you all right, man? Is everyone ok?" There was a slight hint of worry in Gilder's normally calm voice.

Vyse looked over and nodded. "Thank the moons you're here, Gilder. I'd completely forgotten that you were with us in that battle. Thanks."

"We'll talk about that later. Are the girls ok?" Vyse nodded again.

"Aika's woozy, and Fina and Kirala were still unconscious when I came out here. I can't really decide what this place is like..."

Gilder nodded. "Domingo should be here soon as well. So should your other friends, whoever they are. In fact, here comes Domingo right now," he finished as he pointed up to the darkened sky. The Discovery landed on the other side of The Journeyer. Domingo walked out onto the deck, puffing on his cigar and unscrewing the cap of a fresh bottle of loqua.

"Are you alright there mate? Are the girls ok?" Domingo asked in between gulps of loqua. Vyse nodded. The Vashj was next, landing next to The Discovery. The Red Dawn came last as it landed beside The Claudia. "I'm coming over lad," Domingo said as he backed up a bit. getting a running start and jumped from his ship over to Vyse's. "You look fine in all accounts of what just happened to you. Where's the girls?" 

"They're back in the bridge. None of them are exactly with it after the crash," Vyse said in a low tone of voice. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I think I have to pass out." And with that Vyse sat down on the deck and fell backwards. 

"Cheers mate," Domingo said and took another gulp of the loqua. "I don't blame ya." Domingo looked across to Gilder. "Is everyone all right over there?"

Gilder nodded. "Yeah, nothing too serious here. Nothing but a few bumps and bruises. The Claudia looks just fine."

"Good to hear. Now, let's find a way down from these ships so we can stand on level ground again."

"You go ahead," Gilder said. "I'm coming over to check on them." Domingo nodded. Gilder got a running start like Domingo did and leaped across to The Journeyer's deck. Domingo held out the bottle of loqua to Gilder. "Thanks," he said, taking the bottle from Domingo and taking a full swig. He handed the bottle back and walked back into the bridge. Domingo, with his better judgment, decided to go with Gilder.

Gilder sighed as he walked into the bridge. Aika had slipped back from consciousness again. Fina and Kirala were still sitting up against the wall, lights out. Pow was wrapped up at Kirala's feet. Domingo nodded. "They'll be all right. The ship however, won't. It's going to need some real repairs."

Gilder grunted. "Yeah. Shit, this may take days. Go out and find a way down, I'll try to fix up some of these worse cuts." Domingo nodded as he headed back outside. Looking straight to the front of the ship he could see a torch illuminating an area of wall. Upon closer inspection, he saw that in front of the wall was a slim pathway with stair leading up and down to the ground level from it. Domingo sighed, and miserably thought, _And I took the energy jumping over here?_

Maiev had left the bridge of The Vashj and was waiting on the deck with Jade, who was still carrying her rifle. She called over to Domingo. "Hey there, stranger. Is everyone ok over there?"

Domingo called back, "More or less. Everyone will be good to go in the long run." He took another swig of the loqua. "Gilder here will take good care of them. Just because he's one of the toughest bastards around doesn't mean he's always like that," Domingo said with a hearty laugh. "Come on down to the ground level, it's easier speaking from there. There's a pathway right off the side of your ship." Domingo said no more as he took to the path and went down the stairs. He pulled his pistol, which was a model similar to Gilder's, from his belt just in case.

He waited at the ground level with his pistol aimed at the ceiling, ready if anything came at him from the darkness. He looked almost comical with the gun in one hand and a bottle in the other. Maiev, Jade, and Tyrande came down a few moments later, Jade still carrying the rifle, and Maiev and Tyrande armed with sabers. 

"It looks like we're going to have to start a fire if we're going to be stuck here awhile," Maiev said softly. Domingo nodded his agreement. "Besides, who knows what's lying in wait out there."

Tyrande shivered. "This place really gives me the creeps. I'm picking up some pretty bad vibes from it," she stated shakily.

"Good, I thought I was the only one," Jade muttered. "Hey, what's your name stranger?"

Domingo took another drink. "We can make all of our formal introductions when everyone is together. Plus, I have to look for Baltor's ship. I haven't seen it since we crashed here." 

The girls simply nodded. "We'll have to set up a perimeter then," Maiev said.

"Right. We'll get it set up. Ok then, you can come aboard the ship if you want, I assume you know Vyse." They nodded again and followed Domingo as he bounded back up the stone-carved stairs. Domingo jogged across the deck to the bridge. "Gilder, has anyone else come to yet?"

Gilder shook his head. "No, but Aika looks like she's about ready too. Kirala and Fina shouldn't be out for much longer either. I'm surprised Vyse isn't back up yet."

"I am. Up that is, just not standing," Vyse called from the deck.

"All right then. Before I go, I want to mention to you. I haven't seen Baltor's ship yet. I knocked him down here, but I don't know where he could've gone," Domingo said quietly. Gilder nodded gravely and cursed through his teeth. Domingo walked back out to the deck and stood in front of Vyse. "You all right, lad?" 

Vyse nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Are the girls up and around yet?" Domingo shook his head as he through the stub of his cigar off the deck.

***A Few Hours Later***

The five crews had assembled on the ground level and were seated around a large bonfire, started from spare materials and wood that was of no more worth from The Journeyer. They had all been formally introduced to each other. Fina, Aika, and Kirala were all back up and around. Aika was back to normal, but Fina and Kirala were still a little woozy. They had both taken harsher hits, but would be ok.

Naturally, the main question was posed was why Morgan had contacted all of them to appear in this place. His answer had come smoothly, the result of previous planning. He' said, "I knew it would be a dangerous place. And I knew that it would be too much for me and my crew to handle. But I knew each of you would agree to help and join in when you knew that the discoveries we could make here would make us rich an' put us in the history books. And in the cases of Vyse, Aika, Fina, Gilder, Kirala, and Domingo," he'd pointed to each one as he said there names, "Put them back into the record books." The answer was good enough for them, and they took it without much extra thought. They were all scratching for some spare cash, and who would pass up a chance to go down as a legend?

Maiev and her crew were slowly changing their minds about Morgan. He wasn't as bad as they had first thought. At least this was the thought from all of them except Angela and Jade. The chances of ever getting them to trust Morgan was roughly zero.

It was all quiet for a few hours after the landing. The crews had mainly stayed near the bonfire and talked about how they would go about searching the ruins the laid before them, and occasionally the odd sailor's tale. A perimeter had been set up around the camp. All of Morgan's crew was patrolling the outside area with the exception of Gix and the helmsman Lupe. Each was armed with a cutlass and a single shot pistol. 

Azinzas was the only man patrolling by himself. He was the second gunner of The Red Dawn, and by far the largest man on the crew. He was a hulking behemoth of a Nasarian, standing six and a half feet tall and with arms as thick as steel girders. Despite the stereotypical appearance of a man who was all brawn and no brains, he was quite the opposite. He held quite a bit of smarts in his head as he'd received a formal education when growing up in Nasrad.

Azinzas walked across the cold stone with care. One hand held the cutlass in a death grip, and the other his pistol. He was nervous. And he had every reason to be. It wasn't everyday one stumbles into a place as dark as this, with moons knew what lurking behind every corner. 

He had strayed a little farther off path than this normal patrol routine. He saw something in the darkness that had intrigued him. Walking over to it, he found that it was an old stone table. Its age couldn't be determined, but it looked like it had seen quite a few ages pass by. Azinzas leaned a hand against the table, testing its strength. The table didn't buckle or budge a bit, much to Azinzas' surprise. As he pulled his hand away, his fingertips lightly brushed across an ancient engraving.

Azinzas gave a grunt of wonder. He brought his face closer to the surface so he could read the inscription. To his surprise, it was in modern Arcadia.

"He who intrudes upon Tal'Kalen beware,

You have surely sealed your fate,

This truth to you will become clear,

With the awakening of Pyr'Kizate."

Azinzas brought his back, rubbing his chin in thought. _I do not like the way this reads. Something here has surely been planned for us by whoever used to live here,_ he thought, a slight moment of distress creeping into his brain. He looked back at the inscription and right above it was a circular indentation in the stone. Azinzas placed his hand in the indentation and slowly moved his hand across it. _This craftsmanship is-_ his thoughts were cut off as he triggered a switch at the bottom of the indentation. A small section at the bottom slowly slid down into the table. 

Azinzas stood straight up and silent for a few seconds, listening intently, looking about the darkness for any movement. He could hear the sound of granite rubbing against granite in the distance. He gulped and silently started to back up, moving back to the camp. He didn't know what he'd just unleashed, but whatever it was, it couldn't possibly be good. The raspy growl that soon emanated from the darkness confirmed his thoughts.

Azinzas called out to the other patrolling crewmen. "Trey! Yoshi! Everyone get over here. Something is not right..." he stuttered. Trey and Yoshi, the other gunners were soon at his side.

"What is it man? What's not right?" Trey whispered coolly. He was an ex-Valuan soldier who had become a rogue after The Rains destroyed Valua.

Azinzas pointed into the darkness. "Ready yourselves," was all he could get out.

"Well, all right then. I'm always up for a good fight," Trey said with a sneer as he raised his bulky battle hammer into a defensive position. Yoshi nodded and held his pistol at eye level so he would be able to get a quick shot. 

Without warning the area a good fifty yards in front of them became illuminated with a green glow. The source of this sudden illumination was something vile, something never seen above the dank city ruins. Describing it has a ghostly phantasm would be the best way to, but that really didn't do the creature justice. The creature wore a heavy suit of chain mail armor, all of it being held by...nothing. It floated as if under a spell from a dark wizard. Moving upwards, a helmet with horns poking from either side sat atop a black, disfigured mass of a face. The creature's arms held a tall shield and an enormous broad sword.

Trey swallowed loudly. "Chaps, this one might just be outta our league," he said shakily. He leaned over his shoulder and yelled as loudly as he could to everyone at the bon fire. "Hey, could you blokes get here, and be real quick about it? because if you don't, we may be down a few men before we ever get into the city!" He knew they would have to start the battle by themselves, the others were too far away to be of much immediate assistance. Trey swallowed a deep breath. "What do you say boys? Shall we show this bloke what the gunners of The Red dawn are made of?" Azinzas and Yoshi nodded coolly, and the three charged at the beast.

Yoshi stopped short and raised his pistol. He cocked it and fired as quickly as he could. The round sailed past the other gunners and right into the chest of the creature. It buckled a bit and gave an ear-shattering shriek. The shriek stopped Azinzas in his tracks, as he dropped to his knees holding his ears in pain. The shriek also threw Trey off target, so his intended hammer strike missed the creature's head and harmlessly bounced off of its shield instead. The creature's eyes erupted in a blue flame as it let loose an unearthly growl. It let loose a stream of ice from its gaping maw. The ice slammed full into Azinzas' chest as knocked him off of his feet. With a grunt he got back up, ready to counterattack the beast. Yoshi had reloaded and fired the pistol at the creature again, but the shot was deflected by the tower shield. The creature wailed and sent forth another burst of ice, swatting Yoshi to the ground. Azinzas took advantage of the creature being distracted. He leapt forth and slashed into the creature's armor with his cutlass, hacking away. The phantom just bashed him away with its shield. Trey picked the hammer up again and brought it down as hard as he could on the creature's back. The creature screamed and dropped to its knees with a sickening thud.

The others were still running, but they had a ways to go yet. The creature struggled back to its knees and took another blow from Trey's hammer, this time square in the head. The blow came with another power that it dented the creatures helmet and the recoil knocked Trey flat on his back. The creature had become quite angry with these peppering attacks. It roughly bellows, "Moons...give me strength!" and a circle of red surrounded him. A second later fire burst forth from the ground, slamming into each of the men. The Pyri spell had delivered moderate damage.

"All right, you asked for it," Azinzas bellowed as he ran forth. As he charged he yelled, "Moon Charge!" When he reached the creature he jumped into the air, did a 360, and brought his cutlass down upon the creature. The blow dropped the creature straight to the floor, but it quickly got back up, seeming to hunch over a bit.

The creature was not finished though. Its time was near, but it had one last trick up its sleeve. It dropped its shield to the ground and slid the shield bearing arm across the blade of its sword. A blue liquid seeped from the wound, and dripped onto the sword. The phantom called out, "Now feel my pain. Feel the wrath of Razmodan!" The sword was enveloped in a blue swirl of pure energy. The creature raised the sword and pointed it at Azinzas. "He who hath awoken me, feel the grasp of death."

And with that the creature charged forward, and with speed unknown to man, dodged about Azinzas, drawing deep cuts through his whole body. If he had been able to keep going, Azinzas would surely have died, but Gilder had finally reached the trio. He aimed, prayed to the moons for a direct hit, and fired. The bullet traveled into and back out through the creature's right eye, and it stood still, stunned. Then the armor fell to the ground, followed by the sword. The creature gave out its dying wail before its soul burned away before the men, leaving nothing but the soft afterglow of the creature's eyes.

Azinzas fell to the ground beside the still stunned Yoshi, a look of shock on his face.

An hour later, Azinzas had come to from his shock and told of how he had accidentally let the creature free from its cell. His injuries were bad, but with the help of a few Sacres spells, he was doing fine in no time.

The same group remained around the fire for a little longer. Gilder had been staring into the flames thoughtfully, but felt a twinge in his head. Something wasn't right. He looked up into the sky, where he could see only tiny shafts of light from the red moon above. Suddenly, the light was cut out. A swirling black vortex had replaced the light, blocking their exit. As a consolation prize, a red glow enveloped the area, and they could finally see their surroundings without the help of a flame. The morale of the groups was fairly low at this point, as was to be expected.

Fina sighed. "So, we have survived the first trials of Tal'Kalen. Their will be many more to come."

Vyse looked at her. "You're right. We may never be able to get back into the skies," he said dejectedly, looking up towards the dark swirl.

Aika frowned. "that doesn't sound like you at all Vyse. Come on, we'll find a way out. Besides, we've been in worse situations than this."

Vyse smiled. "Yeah. I guess we have. We'll find a way out."

Fina sighed. "There is a way out."

Vyse looked up, surprise in his eyes. Domingo stopped in mid-drink to look at Fina. "You mean you know a way outta here and haven't told us about it?" he asked.

"No, it's not like that. I just didn't know if it was true or not. That creature Razmodan proves it all though. We have to find the Heart of the Desert. It is a sacred orb that has been said to belong to the sorcerer who created these monstrosities. He is said to have kept it locked away somewhere in the ruins, and only that can open the way to get back above ground..." she trailed off. "But we'll have to scour every area. It could be anywhere."

"Glad I brought plenty of this then," Domingo said with a sigh, and took another long drink from the bottle.

Pow perked his ears up. H heard something off in the distance. He slowly sat up to his haunches and started to growl lowly. Aika took notice before anyone else. She squinted her eyes looking out across the stones and saw two dark figures approaching. She grabbed a hold of Vyse's arm and shook him. "Vyse! Pay attention! Look out there, someone's coming!"

Vyse stood up and drew his cutlass. By now everyone had seen the figures and were standing up preparing themselves for a fight. Vyse walked forward cautiously, Gilder, Maiev, Angela, and Morgan right behind him. Suddenly the figure called out, "Ahoy! I bring no trouble this time lad, I come to make peace!"

Vyse lowered his cutlass and muttered, "Baltor. Son of a bitch." He turned back to face the others and wave them off. "It's all right," he said, much to their confusion.

The two figures walked into sight. Baltor the Black Pirate and his helmsman Korgon walked slowly, Baltor with his hands raised in front of him to show peace, Korgon holding his shoulder, a long trail of blood running down his arm. "It's all right lads, we've come to make amends," Baltor said with a chuckle.

"When are you going to figure out that you will never beat us?" Vyse asked, sounding very agitated. 

"Probably never, Vyse. Probably never."

"Big surprise there," Aika muttered and rolled her eyes. Fina and Kirala giggled lightly.

Baltor ignored Aika's comments. "Now come on, Vyse. You wouldn't leave an old friend and his comrade out in the middle of unexplored territory with the rest of his crew missing, victims of moons knows what is out there? Would you?"

"Your crew is missing? Did you even look for them?" Maiev chimed angrily.

"Yes, of course I looked for them. But I didn't have to look long to find what was left of them after those monsters got to them."

"So, you mean your whole crew is gone?" Jade said as she silently stepped into the light.

Korgon looked at her and gave a gasp. "Y-You! You're the one who shot me!" He started stepping back slowly. 

Baltor threw his fist back and grabbed Korgon by his shirt, pulling him forward. "Stay fast you dog. There's no reason to run off and get yourself devoured. So...would it be ok if we joined you crew for awhile?" Baltor asked almost pleadingly.

"Well...ok," Vyse said.

"But only if you will help us repair our ship, and help u find what we came here for," Fina broke in with authority. Aika smiled up at her air pirate protegee.

"All right, all right. Ya got yourselves a deal. I'll help you out if you'll keep us with ya. It can't be any worse than wanderin' through those darkened ruins," Baltor said.

Domingo sighed. _What a long road ahead,_ he thought, and took another drink from the bottle.

****

Author's Notes: Whew, another chapter done. The next two won't be as action based, but it will pick up again after them. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far; I don't plan on quitting on you guys. Please continue to read and review. I'll get some more chapters out here soon, I hope you're all enjoying it so far.


	5. Reunited At Last

Disclaimer- You should know the drill by now. If not, you haven't read enough fanfics.

****

Skies of Arcadia: The Ruins of Tal'Kalen

Chapter Four: Reunited At Last

The crews had started to spread out, each getting ready for bed. They had decided that tomorrow morning a team would be sent out into the ruins while the rest would stay behind and work on repairs. 

Domingo had kept to himself all night. There was something bothering him. Something about Maiev, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what. All night he had thrown glances towards her, wondering exactly what it was. She had caught his eye a few times and had softly smiled before turning back to whatever conversation she was in.

Domingo had decided to separate himself from the group a bit so he could better focus his thinking. All of a sudden it hit him. He'd spent his whole life looking for Maiev. Deep down he'd always known it, but had never set it as his main priority. This search had in reality gone just as deep in exploits as a lookout for the Delphinus and his love for exploring the world and finding new and exciting discoveries. Every time he came to a new place, he had looked for her, really in a subconscious state. But he had at last found her.

Just as Domingo had come across this revelation, Fina had taken a seat next to him. "Domingo?" No response. "Domingo, are you ok?" Fina asked.

Domingo shook his head, knocking the last trails of thoughts cobwebs from his brain. "Uh, what was that Fina? Sorry, I was daydreaming."

Fina smiled. "It's alright. Are you ok? It looks like you have something on your mind. Care to talk about it?"

Domingo chuckled. "What, and possibly tarnish your new tough girl pirate image? I think not. You'd have to get rid of your new outfit and got back to your Silvite dress." Domingo and Fina both laughed .

"It's ok, Domingo. Just because I've become tougher and little more outgoing doesn't mean I still don't care for my friends."

Domingo nodded and took a drink from his bottle of loqua. He had worked on it since landing, but surprisingly it was still half full. "That, my dear friend Fina, is a good thing to know. Never forget your friends, they may come in handy somewhere down the road. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business to attend too." Fina nodded and watched as Domingo got up and walked over to the bon fire. He stopped near Vyse and Gilder who were chatting like old friends. 

Vyse looked up at Domingo. "Hey, Domingo. Are you going to be ready for tomorrow?" Domingo nodded and pulled the velvet cigar case from his pocket. "Good. We'll need all the help we can get." Domingo nodded again as he lit the cigar. Gilder looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. Domingo sighed and tossed a cigar to him.

Gilder caught it and said, "Thanks, man. I really needed one right about now."

Domingo sighed as he gave Gilder a light. "Savor it, I've only got three left and you'll be hard pressed to even get me to bring the case out in front of you again." Domingo gave a sly smile and Gilder chuckled. Domingo dropped his loqua bottle into the hands of Vyse. "Keep that cold for me lad, I'll be needing it," and he walked off towards Maiev.

Maiev was sitting by herself, in as equally deep thought as Domingo had been in. She really didn't know what she was thinking about though, which is only a small annoyance when one was as bored. She gave a start as someone tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up, fairly startled from her daydreaming, to see Domingo. "Oh...hey Domingo. You scared me," she said softly. 

"You have every right to be in here. This place gives me flutter flies in my stomach." Maiev giggled slightly. "Ah...Maiev. Would you please come with me? There's something that I really need to talk to you about," he said in between drags from his cigar. Maiev only nodded and followed Domingo as he walked off. He led her to the side of The Discovery, which was out of immediate sight from the rest.

Maiev stood against the side of the ship as Domingo sat down on the stone steps that lead up to the pathway. He sat facing the bon fire, looking away from Maiev. He cleared his throat and started off slowly. "Maiev...this is hard for me to even conjure up in my head let alone talk about, but I really do have to know. If just to quiet some inner demons of mine." Maiev nodded, looking down at Domingo. He started again, pulling the cigar away from his mouth. "Tell me, how did you learn to sail?"

"Well, I learned from my mother. She taught me everything I know today about sailing."

"Yes. What was your mother's name?"

"Well...if you have to know, her name was Tara."

Domingo nodded. Another piece fit into the puzzle. "Now...sorry to keep badgering you about your family, but did you ever have a father? Siblings perhaps? Cousins?"

Maiev nodded. "I had a father named John. I remember having a brother too, but I can't recall his name. I was only three when I last saw him. It's something I feel really guilty about. I don't have any cousins."

Domingo tossed his cigar away, despite being only halfway done with it. He folded his hand together and put them up to his mouth. He sighed deeply and nodded. "Did you mother ever mention anything to you about being...how should I put this...adopted? Or perhaps found?"

Maiev gave a questioning look to Domingo. "Yes...yes she did it. How do you know that?" she asked, sounding shaken, almost scared.

Domingo put up his hand. "Give me a moment." He sighed again. "Did she ever tell you why, or how?"

Maiev shook her head. "Only vaguely. She mentioned something about saving me and my brother after the ship we were on was attacked by Valuans. This was before she and John split." Maiev held the bridge of her nose and looked down. "Hell, I barely even know you and I'm opening up like a blossom to you about my past..."

Domingo nodded and looked up into Maiev's face for a few moments. He nodded again, realization finally coming full circle into him. "What I'm about to say may seem really weird, but it must be said. That isn't the whole story." Maiev looked up suddenly, her eyes narrowing at Domingo. "No, that isn't all of it. Your original parents were air pirates, much like you or me. They had warrior's blood in them, and had been a thorn in the side of Valua, attacking any gunboats they could find. Eventually the Valuans got fed up with them and hunted them down. They shot down the ship, and it crash landed into a rock face somewhere in North Ocean. Your parents died in the crash, but you and your brother were left alive. A day or so later John and Tara showed up, and adopted the both of you. They were both great explorers, but their marriage was a bit strained. One day they decided that it was best for them to just separate. Tara took you, and John took your brother. They felt it was best to keep you separate, for the time being at least, and later tell you about each other. Once that task was done however many years down the road, when both were sure that you and your brother would someday be famous air pirates, they had completed their tasks in life and had silently passed on. Am I right up to this point?"

Maiev looked at Domingo, her eyes slowly tearing up. "H-How d-do you k-know all of this?" she asked.

Domingo stood up and stared straight into the eyes of Maiev. "I know this because I have finally found something worth more than any discovery in the world. I have found my baby sister," he said, his voice trailing off at the end.

Maiev's eyes opened full in shock, tears slowly running down the rims of her eyes. She looked right into Domingo's face, and it hit her. Memories of her early childhood flashed back, the boyish face of her brother amongst them. Domingo was her blood brother. She quivered in between sobs and said, "My brother. I knew I would find you. I have searched the skies looking for you, and I have finally found you." She grabbed a hold of Domingo and hugged him as hard as she could. Domingo hugged her back, wrapping a hand around the back of her head and cradling her to his shoulder. "It's ok my sister. Let it out. We have finally found each other again," he said slowly, a tear rolling down his cheek as well. They stood in this same position for a good ten minutes before she finally pushed away from the hug. She smiled weakly up at him.

"Brother, we have so much catching up to do." They both just burst into laughter and hugged each other again. 

"We will have time for all of that once we get out of here. And I'll be damned sure to make sure we both get out of here," Domingo said smiling softly at her.

"Thank you, brother. Thank you releasing a troubled mind. Thought I'm sure yours was just as bad if not worse than mine."

"That's what family is for. Caring for and watching each other's backs." She smiled. "I'm headed back up now. You'd better get to bed too, we'll have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." She nodded. "Good night."

"Good night."

As Domingo walked off, Maiev's eyes started tearing up again. She walked out from the side of the ship, her hand stretched across her eyes as more tears started to roll down her cheeks. Tyrande and jade had been standing together talking and were the first to see Maiev walk out. They ran up to her in a worry. "Cap'n Maiev, are you ok? What's happened?" Tyrande asked, worry filling her voice.

"Was it something that drifter said? What did he say, Maiev? I'll make good and sure he never does it again..." Jade said through clenched teeth.

Maiev laughed slightly through her tears. "Don't you dare, Jade. he has done nothing wrong, only right." The girls gave her a questioning look. "Come with back to the ship. I'll tell you all about it. Then I want you to tell the other girls." Tyrande and jade nodded, and each put an arm around Maiev's shoulders, helping her back up to the ship.

Domingo walked back towards Vyse, who was holding the bottle of loqua in one hand. He had drank some more of it, or Gilder had, it mattered not. Just as Vyse was about to lift the bottle back to his mouth Domingo walked past him and snatched the bottle from his grasp. "Thanks for holding it for me, but I need it a lot more than you do, Vyse," Domingo said as he swaggered back to The Discovery with the bottle. Domingo gave a thumbs up to Fina as he walked by her and Aika, who were deep in discussion. Fina smiled lightly. Vyse and Gilder could only shrug their shoulders at each other.


	6. Thoughts Before the Storm

Disclaimer- I do not own Skies of Arcadia or any characters in this story other than Maiev, Morgan, and their crews. I do however own a few grind records.

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Skies of Arcadia: The Ruins of Tal'Kalen

Chapter Five: Thoughts Before the Storm

The cavern was still softly glowing red, but everyone's internal clocks had told them it was night time and they'd all settled into their respective ships to rest for the next day. Very few of the sailors were able to sleep well though. Many had great trouble falling asleep in this foreign place, and some didn't sleep at all. But those that did sleep, what did they dream about? And those that couldn't, what kept them awake?

Maiev was the only one who didn't even bother trying to sleep. She knew that the chances of her falling asleep after the night's news was well into the negative figures. She'd spent the whole night standing out on the deck and staring out into the soft red haze. Her mind was seemingly on a track meet, and she couldn't the events of the past few days to stop cycling through her head. As great or terrible these memories were, she was getting tired of replaying them. She could handle only so much monotony. 

Except of course when she replayed the words in her head that Domingo had said. He was much more perceptive than he looked, she hadn't even lent the thought that she was his sister before he brought it to her attention. It all made so much sense. They were fairly alike in personality, had similar facial features, each had a piece to an incomplete story, and there was just that feeling. A feeling that couldn't be doubted by anything the worldwide.

Halfway through the night Angela had come out onto the deck and stood with her. Angela was in her blood red nightdress, and had her blond hair tied up in a ponytail. They stood in silence for a few minutes before Maiev finally spoke up. "Couldn't sleep?"

Angela shook her head. "Nah, I'm a little built up for tomorrow." Maiev nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm not even going to try to sleep. There's no point in it, I know I'll never be able to. Not after the past few days. Not before what's about to happen."

Angela nodded again. "It is amazing though, finally meeting your long lost brother in this place. The most unlikely place you ever could find him. Small world, ain't it?"

Maiev giggled softly. "In a way I suppose. It just teaches you to always keep your eyes open, else you might walk right past the turn in the road."

"If I'm not mistaken, Cap'n, but wasn't it you who would've walked straight down the road if not for Domingo?" 

Maiev giggled again. "You got me. I suppose I would have."

Angela giggled too. "I'm going to try and settle back in. It felt nice to get out of bed for awhile."

Maiev nodded. "Ok. Sleep well, Angela." She waved back to Angela as she headed back into the ship. Maiev sighed. She still had a few hours to think to herself before taking the dive into the city.

Angela wasn't the only one on Maiev's crew who couldn't fall asleep. Jasmine and Christina had been up for hours playing cards, trying to cure their insomnia. It wasn't long before they realized it wasn't going to work, but they continued playing anyways. As usual, the two had been deadlocked in their games. They were the best poker players on board, and were capable of beating anyone else on the crew with ease.

Usaki had stayed in the galley all night cooking food for anyone who came down. She had spent most of the night listening to the triplets bicker between each other over bowls of a traditional Yafutoman stew. She had even joined in on their conversation every once in awhile, trying to push down the flutter flies in her stomach. But the feeling of nervousness, much like with everyone else in the crew, simply wouldn't leave. Usaki remained her silent, steely self most of the night, thinking about what was to come.

Apoc, as usual, kept to himself all night long, locked up in his room. He didn't really care about tomorrow. He would do whatever he had to do, and get the hell out of there alive.

Tyrande spent all night talking to Jade in her room. Neither felt especially sure about the day to come. They talked about what kind of monsters they would have to fight, or what treasure they might find. They also discussed the whole situation with Domingo and Maiev in thorough detail. Everyone had been overjoyed for Maiev, but the feeling wasn't able to stand long as anxiety crept in. As the night wore on, they'd started passing a bottle of loqua around, and were soon drunk enough to wear down their anxiety. Jade was soon passed out, getting her only sleep of the night. Tyrande had hung on for most of the night, but eventually fell asleep, using the wooden table they'd been seated at as a pillow.

All night Tyrande was pounded with dreams of her troubled past. How she'd been on her own most of her life until she'd met Maiev. They'd become very fast friends, and were probably closer than anyone else on the crew. Her dreams eventually tapered out into blackness, and Tyrande slept well for the rest of the night.

Domingo had only slept briefly. He was too preoccupied with the thoughts of Maiev and his bottle of loqua to be bothered with too much sleep. He sat inside of his cabin all night, leaning back on a wooden chair, his feet propped up on an antique desk. He had lit another cigar and tried his best to make it last. He was down to just two cigars; he would need one of them for their inevitable victory celebration. That meant he had to go the length with just one. Why the hell hadn't he packed more before starting out? Oh, that's right. Gordo's cigar prices were simply ludicrous. That's why.

Domingo opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a small world map. He looked at the map closely, puffing away at his cigar as did so. He studied the area around Nasr the most intently, and circled approximately were the cyclone had been on the map. If nothing else, when they got of here, he was going to make sure that he got the reward for finding it, whether he did first or not.

Domingo sighed as he looked across the map, trying to decide where he would head to after this excursion. The Lands of Ice maybe? No, too damned cold. Esparanza? It was a possibility. There were surely some interesting sights to behold in that area, and he would be able to see how the rebuilding was coming along. _Fine then, Esparanza it is,_ he thought to himself. Anywhere but here would work just fine.

Gilder was the only one awake on his ship. His crewmen had all fallen straight to sleep. When Gilder saw this, he had chuckled happily. "That's why I let them join my crew. Nothing shakes them. Nothing is too big for these guys. That or they just couldn't care less."

Willy was, to make a long story short, passed out. He had always enjoyed loqua, and when Gilder had gotten up to go to the bathroom, Willie had tipped over the bottle and had a mighty drink. Gilder could do nothing but laugh at this as well. 

He had opened up another bottle and sat at the bridge, contemplating the possible events of the oncoming day. Would he find a great treasure? Perhaps, but the girls would steal it all away before he even got a shot at it. Would he find a colony of beautiful women? No. That was wishful thinking. Would he get killed? No. He was too stubborn to die. He wasn't through living the good life. Would everyone get killed and would he have to find a way out of this place by himself? No, they were even more stubborn when it came to dying than he was. 

Gilder sighed and tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling. He could've used something more to take off his edge, because the loqua was only working so much. He could use a woman. Two of them. Hell, three would be even better. But he decided to not even try his luck with any of them down here. He was too much of a gentleman enough for that.

Gilder's eyelids started drooping about the same time Angela and had talked to Maiev. Before he dozed off, he muttered, "Well, at least Clara will never find me down here," before he fell out of his chair and onto the floor, sleeping peacefully for the rest of the night.

Morgan's lookout Sega was never a very calm person. He'd been called jumpy, edgy, and even on the rare occasion, psychotic. These traits showed as he sat on the ship's deck, staring out into the red. Sometimes he would have a sudden spasm or twitch or jerk, and he would crank his neck and listen as closely as possible whenever he heard a sound. He would also rub his hands together until they started to feel hot, even burned, out of unease. He wasn't crazy, he just got really nervous sometimes. He was more nervous than anyone else in the cavern. He knew what was about to go down, and he didn't like one bit of it. 

He began grinding his teeth, creating a stir as his mind went over the consequences for their actions down here. So much could go so wrong in such a fast time. He slapped himself across the cheek and lowly whispered to himself, "Stop it. You don't have to think like this. You just have to go with the flow, and take life how it comes. Or death," He slapped himself again for muttering the last part. "But of course, death won't come because you're too strong and you trust your captain. Yes, yes of course." Sega started to calm down and just laid back on the deck. He stared up at the swirling black vortex above before curling into a fetal position and falling asleep.

Wildro the fat sailor had no trouble falling asleep. Azinzas looked at him, a sneer of anger creeping into his face. "Damn idiot. He knows not of what danger awaits us."

Fellow gunner Trey and builder Arlo sat with Azinzas looking at Wildro with equal disgust. "The whiny bloke is just nappin' away. I bet you he thinks he isn't going to have to do any work tomorrow. I bet you that's what the bastard thinks," Trey said, a slight slur to his voice. He took a drink of loqua and passed the bottle to Azinzas.

"You're probably right about that though. Morgan isn't going to make him get his fat ass out and search the city like we'll have to. Son of a bitch. I say we toss him overboard when we get out of here," Arlo said and spat on the floor. He was a man of medium build with a shaved head and a goatee. Azinzas and Trey nodded, throwing in an 'Aye Aye" as agreement.

Azinzas suddenly smiled, a look of evil spreading across his lips. He chuckled to himself and walked over to the hammock that Wildro was wrapped up in. He looked to Trey and Arlo before taking his fist and swatting the end of the hammock with a brute force, sending the hammock spinning and dumping Wildro onto the floor. Wildro hit consciousness face first, greeted by the screams of laughter from the three sitting across from him. Wildro put a hand up to his nose and wiped a streak of blood from it. He looked angrily at the three. "Yeah, laugh it up you fiends. Just wait, I'll get all of you back one of these days," Wildro grunted through clenched teeth.

"Ah shut up you bloody lubber," Trey said raucously.

Arlo laughed and shouted, "Yeah. You'll never amount to a sailor you fat slob. Get the hell out of here!" Wildro walked out in a huff, the lingering traces of laughter still in his head.

Birbry and Yoshi sat across from each other in the galley, neither saying a word. They were from opposite cultures from the opposite sides of the world. They'd never really shared any of the same interests or ideas, and as a result never really spoke to each other. The only thing they did share was a love for the other cultures food. Yoshi was contentedly munching on dried Alupa meat while Birbry drank fully from a cup of tea, eating romuhai fish. If nothing else bonded sailors the world over, it was food and loqua.

Morgan, Gix, and Lupe were all seated in Morgan's cabin, discussing the day's events. "I dunno about all of this, Cap'n. I think it might've been a huge mistake ever even lending a thought to coming down here. I just don't have a good feeling about, it's all in my gut. And a sailor should always trust his gut instinct."

"I'll say it's your gut, Lupe," Gix quipped. Lupe looked at him crossly.

"Calm down, the both of you. I'll have no more of this senseless fighting. Save your strength for tomorrow. You'll need every last ounce of it. You'll need all of your courage too," Morgan said with an air of superiority. 

Lupe nodded. He had a Maramban look about him, and a girth that usually only came with the royalty. He was still wearing his flight goggles over his eyes. Gix spoke with a voice hoarse from yelling and drinking. "Aye Cap'n. Me an' Lupe are up to it, and I know you are, but the rest I'm not so sure about. Trey and Arlo are renegades. Azinzas is impossible to read. Yoshi never talks. Wildro has a yellow spine and large ego. Birbry has a little too much pride. And Sega. Well, I don't think I have to say much about Sega."

Morgan sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. "Yes, but I hold a deep trust in my men. They, like you, will all be able to do as ordered, and do it just fine. With the exception of Wildro, that fat, balding, slime who is considered a sailor only by himself. I don't even know why I took him on," he said, a tone of regret in his voice.

Lupe nodded. "I suggest that when we get out of here, we toss him into Deep Sky."

Morgan smiled. "I'll surely consider that notion. But it will all depend on if he can get the job done."

Gix and Lupe nodded. "Now go on. Off to sleep with the both of you, and get the other men to bed too if they aren't already passed out. I want everyone good and ready," Morgan said. Gix and Lupe got up and left without a word. Morgan plopped down on his bed and sighed. _Lupe may be right this time,_ he thought grimly.

Vyse looked over at the half empty bottle of loqua and yawned. He couldn't bring himself to drink any more of it. He needed something to quell his anxiety, but he also wanted to keep his mind sharp. Vyse stretched his arms out above his head and yawned again. Maybe it was time to turn in. He doubted he'd be able to sleep, but he had to at least try. This anxiety he was feeling wasn't quite at Hydra or Soltis level, but it was close. He didn't have one good feeling about the whole trip. He was about to kick off his boots when he heard a knock at his cabin door. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Fina. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course. The door's open."

Aika sighed as she pulled the braids out of her hair, looking into her mirror. She'd gotten one shortly after Soltis, it was the first mirror she'd ever owned. Aika straightened her hair out. Her mind was a ferocious whirlwind of thoughts. She thought about the battle against the Black Pirates in the morning, and then having the engines cut out and crash landing here. She took the glove off of her right hand and softly swept her fingers across the bruise on her face where she'd hit the deck the hardest. She cringed a bit as her fingers were drawn over it.

She thought backwards to Soltis. She thought about how nervous she had been going into there. But that was infinitely worse than the current situation. Why was she so nervous now? Was there something she knew was going to happen, but just wasn't sure about it? Who knows. It was perfectly normal to be at least a little scared or nervous going into any tight situation. Just as long as you didn't mess up bad enough to get yourself or an ally injured.

Then she thought of Vyse. She'd finally got out her peace before they'd crashed. She hadn't gotten another chance to talk to him about it though. Maybe now was it. Maybe that would ease her mind a bit.

She slid off her leather dress and let it drop to the floor. She quickly changed into her nightclothes, the pink tank top and shorts as before, and walked out of her cabin. As soon as she stepped out she ran right into Kirala. They knocked heads and Aika fell back into the doorway, and Kirala tripped backwards over Pow and landed on the floor. They sat dazed for a moment before they both burst out laughing. Pow barked happily along with them. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even see you," Aika said with a giggle.

Kirala smiled. "It's alright. I wasn't really paying attention. Who knows, you might have just knocked some inspiration into me." Aika gave her a questioning look. Kirala smiled again. "I've been racking my brain for hours on how to go about repairing these engines. It's not going to be an easy task, no way. Plus it's hard trying to think when you've got this little scamp bothering me whenever he can't get to you or Vyse," Kirala said while she started to scratch Pow behind the ears.

Aika nodded. "Yes, he has grown quite attached to you." Kirala nodded and continued scratching the husky's ears. "Actually Kirala, I was just looking for you..."

Kirala nodded and got up. She reached a hand out and helped Aika up. They both walked into Aika's room, Pow dancing at Kirala's heels. She closed the door behind her, leaving just a small crack open. Kirala stood by the door as Aika took a seat on her bed, Pow jumping up with her. "So what's on your mind? Besides the obvious," Kirala questioned.

Aika bit her bottom lip, looking for the words. She cleared her throat and began speaking. "Well...ah...um...before we dropped, it was just me and Vyse on the bridge. Well...you know how I feel about him...I love him with all my heart..." Kirala nodded, eyes keeping their intent lock upon Aika. "Well, before we fell, I grabbed a hold of him and I told him just how I felt about him..." Kirala nodded again. Aika started petting Pow's head. "And I don't know if it was too fast or if he didn't hear it or if he just hasn't wanted to bring it up yet or just got hit too hard and forgot about it...but I haven't talked to him about it since. We've all been wrapped up in this mess...but I have to know..."

Kirala sat down beside Aika. Aika's eyes were slowly tearing up. This was the first time Kirala had ever seen Aika like this. The truth was, not many people ever got to see Aika like this. Kirala lifted up a hand and cleared the tears away from Aika's eyes. She then pulled Aika's head to her shoulder and held her, Aika's slow run of tears dampening her vest. "It's alright, let it out. Let it all out. I know how it is...it's ok..." They stayed in this way for a few minutes, neither of them noticing as Fina crept by and walked into Vyse's cabin.

Aika eventually lifted her head away and brought her hand up to her face, trying to wipe away all of her tears. She coughed lightly. "I'm sorry, Kirala. I've never really been like this before, it's just all so confusing..."

Kirala nodded. "Believe me, I've been through it before too. I know how it all works. You just have to keep a clear head and stay strong."

Aika nodded as she started to absentmindedly pet Pow, who sat there with a sad look on his face, as if he knew all to well what was going on.

Kirala smiled. "Cheer up, Aika. You never know what he thinks until you've gone straight to him. And I wouldn't waste too much time going about it."

Aika lifted her head up and dried away the last of her tears. She gave a sniffle and then a slight smile. "You're right. I have to go talk to him, and now. This can't wait much longer." Kirala nodded. "Thank you, Kirala. This means a lot to me. Thanks for being a friend." 

Kirala giggled. "You know that I'm here. I've always got an open ear for you. Now, stop wasting time. Clean your tears away and go see him." Aika nodded and got up, heading towards the barrel of water in her room. Luckily it hadn't spilled when the ship crashed. Kirala stood up and headed for the door. She looked back over her shoulder before walking out. "Hey, good luck," she said softly and walked out, Pow following her closely. Aika nodded and sighed, washing her face off, letting the cool water soothe her skin and clear her mind. Once she felt she had regained her composure, she went to Vyse's cabin. 

When she reached the door, she stopped, listening to the voice inside. She knew she shouldn't, but she decided to eavesdrop on the conversation. It was Vyse and Fina.

"Yeah, of course. The door's open."

Fina opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it behind her. Vyse smiled and looked up at her. "Hey," he said softly. 

"Hey," Fina said with an equal softness. "May I sit down?" Vyse nodded and Fina sat down across from him in his desk chair. She looked over to Vyse, who was sitting on the edge of his bed.

"So what's on your mind? Something you need to talk about?"

"Actually...yes..."

"Shoot."

Fina sighed, searching for the right words. "Vyse...I ask of you, please don't get angry with me. Please promise me this."

Vyse had a questioning look on his face. "Well, yeah sure. I promise I won't get angry." 

Fina smiled, looking partially relieved. "Ok then." She got up and sat next to Vyse, grabbing his hands and holding them. Vyse gave another questioning look but said nothing. Inwardly he knew what was about to come though.

"I really don't know if this is the right time for this or not, but I have to say it. I can't keep this inside of me anymore, Vyse." At this point Aika had started eavesdropping. She clenched her hands into fists as tight as possible, keeping a cool head about everything. 

"But...promise you won't get angry?" Vyse nodded again. "Well..." Fina squeezed Vyse's hands a little tighter as she struggled for confidence. She looked straight into Vyse's eyes, emerald and hazel clashing. "Vyse I have become attached to you. And not just a friend, but in a romantic way. I have held these feelings for months now, and I had to tell you. I felt as if I was going to burst if I didn't tell you. And I'm very sorry that I had to come out with it at this inopportune time...Vyse you're not mad are you?" Fina kept staring into Vyse's eyes, her own starting to brim with tears.

Vyse smiled warmly. "Of course not, Fina. This isn't your fault. And I'm glad you told me," Vyse said as Fina wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Aika slowly sunk down to the floor, fists unclenching. She sat upon the floor outside of Vyse's cabin and pulled her knees as close to her as she could. Tears slowly slid down her cheeks as she sat, feeling an empty, hollow rejection inside. But why? She knew this would happen. It was inevitable. She just didn't think it would hit her this hard. _Maybe they were meant for each other. Maybe I was just the wild card. _Aika's chest convulsed with silent sobs. She got up and ran to her cabin so they wouldn't be able to hear her.

"Fina, it's just, well..." Fina peered up at Vyse, a few more stray tears rolling down her cheeks. Vyse sighed, trying to word it as delicately as possible. Fina bit her lip, waiting. "I feel the same way about you. As a friend, and in the romantic sense. It's just...Aika brought to my attention yesterday that she felt that same way as you do. And the problem is...I feel the same about her as well. I also haven't gotten to talk to her about any of this...moons what a mess I'm responsible for..."

Fina put a finger to Vyse's lips to stop him. "It is ok. I understand fully. You two have known each for so long, it would be expected...maybe we should go get Aika and talk about this?"

Vyse shook his head. "No. Not now. This isn't the right time or place, and we surely don't have enough time right now to discuss this. After we get out of here, together, we can talk."

Fina nodded. "I understand." Fina leaned towards Vyse and gave a small kiss on the cheek. "Good night Vyse," she said softly and walked to the door.

"Good night, Fina."

Before she left, Fina turned back over her shoulder and smiled at Vyse. "Thanks." Then she left. Vyse sighed deeply and fell back into his bed. _Why do all the best things in life have to come from the hardest? _he thought before falling asleep.

Fina stopped as she went past Aika's cabin. She thought she could hear sobbing coming from the room. Fina merely shook her head. _I must be hearing things. I am not thinking clearly right now. I've never seen Aika cry before, I don't even know if she's capable of it._ Despite her urges, Fina kept walking and dismissed the thought that anything could be wrong. Fina changed into her nightgown and laid upon her bed. _Could she have heard our conversation? Could that drive her to this state? No...she couldn't have heard. But if she had..._ Fina got no further as she passed out from exhaustion.

Aika had sat upon her bead, knees hugged to her chest, and sobbed for quite awhile. Nothing she had experienced had ever felt like this before. After a while she stopped and sighed. She pulled the strap of her tank top back into place, it had fallen down during her sobbing. Maybe she was just the wild card. Maybe Fina and Vyse were made for each other. Aika sighed again and laid back, waiting for sleep to embrace her. She knew what she had to do. She had made her decision, and she'd be damned if anyone was going to prevent it from happening.

Kirala sighed as she looked at the engines one last time. "These things will take forever to fix. But you'll help me, won't you Pow?" she asked the purple husky. Pow looked up and gave a happy bark. Kirala smiled. "Let's get to bed. We'll be up all day tomorrow." Pow barked his agreement, and they headed for Kirala's cabin. 

Not everyone slept. Not everyone was confident. Not everyone was happy. But they were all determined to make it out alive.

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Author's Notes: Well, I hope everyone that's reading is liking it so far. The action will pick up again in the next chapter. Speaking of which, the next few chapters may take a little longer to get out as I'm heading back to school on Thursday. Also, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, especially Desert Lynx for her continued support.

You guys keep reading 'em, and I'll keep writing 'em.


	7. Outskirts

Disclaimer- Why even bother reading this? Is there really even a point? It always says the same thing, no matter what story. So and so does not own whatever company and game etc. I'm getting sick of these things. Seriously.

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Skies of Arcadia: The Ruins of Tal'Kalen

Chapter Six: Outskirts

Aika had barely even slept that night. She was up before anyone who had gotten to sleep, and was ready to get moving. She really wished everyone would get up so they have breakfast, pack, and get out there. She wanted to see what this city was really like, and if it was as glorious as the tales told. More importantly however, she wanted to find out what kind of treasure was hidden there.

Aika pulled on her sturdy leather glove and picked up her trusty hydra wing. She squeezed the handle tightly, psyching herself up. After a few moments she sighed and quietly snuck up onto the deck, trying her best not to wake anyone.

When she reached the deck she started stretching herself out. First she stretched her arms out, pulling them across her chest and then doing windmills. Then she pulled her arms over her head and stretched them out. Next she pulled her right leg up by the ankle and brought it up to the small of her back, stretching it out. She repeated this action with the other leg and cracked her neck. Moons, how long would it be before anyone else woke?

"Ready to get going I see?" Maiev's voice called out as she appeared on the path outside of The Journeyer. Aika turned around, surprised by the sound of her voice. 

She smiled as Maiev hopped onto the deck and walked over to her. "Yes, I wasn't able to sleep much at all. I really need to just let loose some of this pent up aggression. Any evil creature crawling around in here will be a perfect start to venting. What about you? Couldn't you sleep either?"

Maiev giggled warmly. "No, I didn't even bother trying. My mind was going too fast, I was still worked over from last night."

"Speaking of which, what happened exactly?"

Maiev smiled lightly. "Well...I may as well tell you. I guess in a way it concerns you." Aika nodded. "Well, last night, I found my long lost brother. Who would've thought one could find a lost relative in this hell."

Aika looked surprised. "Well who was it? Come on, don't leave off right there! And how does it concern me? Do I know him?"

Maiev smiled again. "Yes, you know him. Well...it's Domingo."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. One hundred percent serious. I'd spent my life looking and hoping that I'd find him, and I have."

"Well congratulations!" Aika and Maiev embraced in a quick friendly hug. "Have you told anyone else yet?"

"Only you and my crew knows. I'm keeping it secret for now, everyone can learn of this once we get out of here. Domingo feels the same way."

Aika nodded. "Well, if nothing else, at least this has happened. No one will leave with a complete feeling of loss if we don't find something down here." The pair smiled happily.

Maiev cut off. "Hey...you said you wanted to get out some aggression. Where does this stem from? If you don't mind my asking of course."

Aika frowned a bit. She turned away from Maiev and looked out into the stone ruins, leaning heavily against the ship railing. "It...it's nothing, really. I'm just ready to go and pound anything out there so I don't end up venting on someone else. I'm not fit to talk about this right now...but I will later if you still want to know," Aika finished turning back to Maiev. 

Maiev nodded solemnly. "I understand." They stood in silence for a few moments before Maiev spoke up again. "How long do you think it will be until everyone wakes up?"

"It depends on how much loqua everyone had last night." The pair giggled. "I'd say Vyse and Fina and Kirala will be up soon, they usually don't rest very well before something big. Now, Gilder and his crew...it could be awhile before they show any signs of life." Aika and Maiev laughed again, waiting for the rest to wake.

Within two hours everyone else was up except for Gilder and his crew. They had restarted the bon fire and were quietly eating breakfast, no one talking about the upcoming day. 

Another hour passed by before Vyse became tired of waiting for Gilder. Vyse and Domingo traveled up the path and climbed aboard The Claudia. It wasn't long before they found Gilder passed out on the bridge. "Gilder," Vyse called. He called his name again, sounding a little more agitated. Vyse carefully nudged Gilder with his foot. Vyse sighed, not getting any response.

Domingo suddenly smiled, an idea coming into his head. He pulled his bottle of loqua from the night before from his coat and poured a bit onto Gilder's face. "Lola, for moons sake, I told you already. Let me rest some more," Gilder muttered in a daze. Domingo chuckled and nudged Gilder with his foot. Gilder sat up with a start, breathing heavily. It took him a few moments to catch his breath. He looked up at Vyse and Domingo, a half frown on his face. "That's not the way to wake a drunken man. You could've at least brought some coffee."

"Well, if Lola was here, I'm sure she would've," Vyse said with a smile. 

Gilder grunted. "Yeah, she probably would've. Is my crew up yet?" Vyse shook his head. "Go back down then, I'll wake them up."

"Can we trust that you won't just go back to sleep? Will you actually wake them up?" Vyse asked.

"Vyse, you know me. Of course I'll wake them up. Moons, you help a guy save the world and he still doesn't fully trust you..." Gilder mumbled as Vyse and Domingo walked back down to the bon fire.

Gilder got up to one knee, then up on his feet. He gave a grunt as he rubbed his eyes, noticing something was missing. Ahah. His shades must have fallen off the night before. Gilder reached over with a grunt and picked them up before heading down into the sleeping quarters.

Gilder arrived to see his crew sound asleep. He sighed, wondering how long it would take to get them around. Suddenly he shouted, "Rise and shine boys. Today is the day." No response. Not even a twitch or a yawn. "We got a new shipment of loqua today? Do you guys want first dibs?" Still nothing. Gilder sighed, and tried one last time. "Code Red! Everybody up, Clara is coming!" The three men fell right out of their hammocks and onto the floor.

"What? Clara is coming? How did she find us down here?" Kareem, the Nasarian man said in a tired slur.

"No way she could find us," Turk, the blonde Valuan mumbled.

"Cap'n Gilder, are you lying to us? You are aren't you? Just trying to get us up?" Roland, the mop-topped navigator complained. 

"Oh, stop your whining. It was now or never. Now let's get outside and have something to eat before the day gets started. We have a long day ahead of us. Now let's get going!" Gilder said as the three men stood up and ran out, heading for the deck. Gilder chuckled to himself. They were certainly meant only to be on his crew.

Half an hour later, the plan for the next few days unfolded. Vyse addressed everyone while Kirala and Jade were packing food and supplies into packs. "We will split up into two groups. One group will travel into the city so we can try and find the Heart of the Desert. The other group will stay behind and hold this area. That group will also be charged with repairing our ships to full working order."

The assembled group nodded. Aika whispered to Fina, "Who knew Vyse could sound so official?" The pair giggled silently as Vyse continued.

"I will be leading the group headed into the city. Jade, I want you to lead the group here."

Jade looked up in surprise. "Wait...what? Me?" Vyse nodded. "Oh come on, I want to get out there! I can't just leave you guys out there wandering about, you'll all end up lost without me! At least if you plan on leaving me, take someone else from the crew! A woman's intuition is the best."

Vyse chuckled. "Don't worry, Jade. Joining me will be Aika, Fina, Gilder, Domingo, Maiev, and Morgan. The rest will stay behind. Are there any objections?"

Morgan spoke up. "You're joking, right? Do you really think seven people will be enough trudging through this hellhole? Come now, legend or not, it would just be foolish."

"I must agree with Morgan here. It wouldn't be very smart traveling in numbers so few," Maiev said.

"May I suggest I bring some of my crew as well? We'll have enough brawn to get through anything then," Morgan said.

"Aye, I want to go as well. I don't know if I could stand being here, not seeing any action," Baltor spat.

Vyse sighed in defeat. "Ok. Morgan, pick out some of your crew to take along with us. Same with you, Maiev." Maiev and Morgan nodded. "Baltor, you and Korgon can come as well. Everyone else will stay behind and guard the area and work on the ships. Jade and Kirala will act as temporary commanders." Murmurs of agreement rose from the crowd. "All right then, let's get moving! I want everyone assembled in front of The Journeyer right away." The group dispersed, heading for the downed ship. The crews split up into their dual factions.

Vyse put a hand on Kirala's shoulder. "I'm counting on you, Kirala."

Kirala nodded. "Don't worry, Cap'n. Me and Jade will make sure everything goes smoothly while you're gone."

Vyse nodded and smiled. "Good to hear. Keep them in line." Vyse turned away from Kirala and looked at his expedition group. Aika and Fina stood next to each other, both looking fairly anxious. Gilder was absentmindedly pawing at his pistol, thinking. Baltor and Korgon stood silent, staring at the ground and waiting for further orders. Domingo finished the last gulp of his bottle of loqua, then turned to Maiev and whispered something into her ear. They embraced for a moment, then fell back to normal. Vyse wondered what the situation there was, but decided to let it slide for now. Morgan stood silently, most of his crew crowding around behind him. Gix, Lupe, Trey, Azinzas, Yoshi, Arlo, and Birbry stood behind him.

Morgan stood facing the last two members of his crew, Wildro and Sega. He spoke, his voice oozing with authority. "I want you two to stay behind and help the rest. Don't goof off, and do what Jade tells you. And for moons sake, don't mess up. If I find out that you messed up any part of this up, I'll have your skulls to drink loqua from." Sega and Wildro just nodded nervously, afraid to speak.

Maiev looked back to her crew. Tyrande and Angela stood facing her, each with weapons drawn. "Cap'n, you have to take us with you. At least us," Tyrande said.

Maiev sighed. "Tyrande, I want you to come with me. Angela, I need you to stay here though. While I'm sure Kirala is a capable leader, Jade's sarcasm may get the best of her. I'm going to need you to keep an eye on her." Angela frowned dejectedly, but finally nodded. "All right then." Maiev turned and walked off to the rest of the group, Tyrande following closely behind.

Kirala and Jade started handing out supply packs. When everyone had received one, Vyse gave the order to head out. Calls came from those remaining behind as the expedition group started for the opening from which Razmodan came.

"Don't worry, Vyse! We'll get The Journeyer up and flying again in no time!"

"You come back safe, you hear me Cap'n Maiev!"

"The same goes for you, Tyrande!"

"We'll be waiting with a barrel of loqua, Cap'n Gilder!"

"We'll do our best, Cap'n Morgan. I promise not to mess up!"

Morgan could only sigh and hope for the best.

The group of seventeen moved quickly and silently past the stony outskirts of the city. Before long they had disappeared completely from the view of those back at the ships. They traveled in a straight line, Vyse up front and the rest two wide. Everyones nerves were high, and some of them were starting to feel uneasy enough that they would become trigger-happy. At every odd sound pistols would be raised in that direction and the line would stop, only to pick up a few seconds later when nothing was seen. A few times someone would squeeze off a round into the sounds direction, but the bullet would fly harmlessly through the mist. Gilder tired of this quickly. "Listen up. Moons, do any of you even know how to properly handle a pistol? Keep your fingers away from the trigger until it's actually time to blast something."

"Well, technically, I thought it was time to blast something. That's why I fired a shot. Multiple times," Trey said.

"And what exactly where you shooting at?"

"Well...ended up being more or less nothing..."

"Exactly. Nothing. You fired at nothing, and you hit nothing. This results in a total progress of nothing. Keep your goddamn fingers off your triggers until you actually see something worth shooting."

Nobody else fired a meaningless shot for the rest of the trip.

After passing through increasingly rocky territory, the group came across a large area of clearing. They had made it through so far without any encounters, but everyone knew that wouldn't keep up. Vyse stopped the group at the start of the clearing. "Alright everyone, we'll rest here for a bit," he said, and everyone gave a sigh of relief.

"Man, we've hardly gone anywhere but my feet are killing me," Aika said as she plopped down onto the ground, rubbing her foot through her boot.

"Me too. This terrain is really tough," Fina said as she sat down next to Aika. For once, the pair's conversation seemed a little strained. They both knew why, and they both secretly hoped it wouldn't keep being like this. Tensions would ease up eventually.

While the rest talked and rested, Domingo had snuck away in front of the group and sat staring into the mist. He was starting to regret drinking so much loqua the past few days. The loqua in combination with this walking was giving him a horrible stomach ache, one of those ones were you just keel over and pray the pain will soon pass. 

Something caught Domingo's eye in the distance. Squinting his eyes he looked closer, and saw a bright red light shining through the mist. Two of them. "What the-" Another jolt of pain stopped Domingo mid-sentence. He keeled over and clutched at his stomach, grimacing in pain. Domingo sighed inwardly as he felt the burn of bile coming up his throat. He fell to the ground and threw up.

Domingo's breaths were heavy. He coughed, his throat burning from the bile. Domingo took a deep breath and spat upon the ground. He then fell back and leaned against a rock, staring back out at the lights. He sat for a few moments, staring right into the light. It was rather beautiful, and seemingly drew Domingo in. 

After a few moments of this Domingo violently shook his head, clearing out the cob webs. "I have to go tell Vyse about this..." he said and stood up, shaking his head again. He walked slowly back over to the others.

Vyse looked over his shoulder at Domingo. "Hey, where'd you creep off to?"

"Well, Vyse, I know where we should head to next."

"Where? What did you see?"

"Straight ahead of here, I saw a bright red lights emanating through the mist. I don't know what it is, I didn't want to get too far ahead. My guess is the city is actually located there though."

Vyse nodded, in thought. "All right then, we'll head there and find the source of this light. Good work, Domingo. That's why you were my crew's lookout, sharp eyes and a sharp mind. All right, everyone. Five more minutes, then we're heading out again. Enjoy the rest while you still can," Vyse announced to the group. Half the group nodded, and the other sighed, not wanting to get up and move anywhere.

Five minutes later the group was moving again. The line moved slower this time. Since they were moving through a clearing, they wanted to make sure that they were protected from all sides against an ambush.

The group continued on like this for a good fifteen minutes before Aika stopped them all with a gasp. "Vyse! Look!" she said, pointing straight ahead of them. Lying before them was a stone parapet with a giant wooden drawbridge. The stones looked ancient and had mildew growing on them, but otherwise looked like they might've so many years ago. The drawbridge was worn down by the ages, but still looked sturdy. On each side of the parapet stood a giant stone statue of a pirate with a cutlass raised high as if in victory. In each pirates right eye was held a sparkling red jewel, its light mesmerizing. Aika ran forward, and caught herself just before the cutoff between the drawbridge and the land. She looked down and saw nothing, a bottomless pit. Aika looked back and held up an arm to stop the rest. "Hold on! There's a pit here, I can't see the bottom. If there even is a bottom."

The rest of the group walked forward cautiously. Gilder gazed up at the parapet and noticed the flags hanging there. "Hey, this must be the city. There's flags hanging out of the wall. They all look like they have the red moon sewn into them."

Fina nodded. "Yes, then this is the entrance to Tal'Kalen."

"It really is marvelous..." Morgan said to himself softly. 

"Quick question here, but...um...exactly how do we get into the city?" Maiev asked, her voice full of wonder.

"Fina? Do you know?" Vyse asked. 

Fina shook her head. "No, but I bet these pedestals have something to do with it," she said motioning over to a pair of marble pedestals, each with a small indentation in the center. They stood directly across from the pirate statues. "Now, if only we could get to those jewels-" Fina was cut off by a low growl.

"What was that?" Aika asked.

"I don't know, but it sounded hungry," Gilder said, slowly pulling the pistols from his belt, backing up. 

"Everyone, back away a bit. That growl came from the statues," Vyse whispered, inching backwards himself.

Domingo raised a brow as he followed suit. "Are you serious? You mean to tell me these stone hunks of junk growled?" Domingo was answered by another growl. He froze, then slowly pulled a brand new bottle of loqua from his coat. The statues both seemed to smile, a dead, lifeless smile. "Well what the hell," Domingo said softly as he pulled the cork of the bottle out with his teeth and took a drink.

"I suggest everyone get ready for a fight..." Morgan stammered. Just then, the statues came to life and jumped across the abyss, landing with a rumble in front of the crew. 

"Well, if they want a fight, they came to the right place!" Vyse snarled as the battle began. The statues acted first, each slamming their stone cutlass into the ground causing a shockwave. This shockwave knocked out Baltor and Korgon along with all of Morgan's crew except for himself and Azinzas. "So, you want to play rough I see?" Vyse said and charged the first statue, Aika and Fina in tow, Gilder and Domingo following them, pistols drawn. 

"Go Cupil!" Fina shouted, and Cupil morphed its shape from a bracelet around her wrist into a silver claymore. Fina rushed at the statue and rolled under a clumsy blow, coming up at its back and giving it a strike with Cupil. The statue was caught off guard, and took the full force of Vyse's Vorlik Blade as a result. The statue rocked back a bit, but stayed on its feet. 

"I think you need to cool off! Moons, give me strength!" Aika shouted, and a column of ice rose from the ground smashing into the statue, the crystalum doing heavy damage. As the ice broke away Domingo and Gilder opened up, pistols blazing.

Meanwhile Maiev, Tyrande, Morgan, and Azinzas were attacking the other statue. Azinzas fired his pistol at the golem while the others harassed it with strike's from their swords. These blows made the statue stagger a bit, but it came back with a full blow to Azinzas, knocking off his feet and out of consciousness. 

"Fine then. Prepare yourself!" Maiev yelled as she went into a defensive position. A swirl of red energy enveloped Maiev as she focused harder, staring right into the dead eyes of the golem. "Moon charge!" She screamed as she ran full force at the creature and ran it right through, the tip of her blade infused with enough energy to send it right through the rock. The statue fell backwards and hit hard, the force of the attack catching it completely off guard. "Haha! Now we got him!"

Meanwhile Vyse and company were pounding away on the statue, which could do little more than feebly defend himself and occasionally counterattack after a devastating cutlass fury attack. They were starting to feel a bit overconfident, and were taken completely off guard when the golem slammed his blade into the ground, sending another shockwave forward and hitting the whole party. The blast took everyone off of their feet, stunning them for a second. Gilder got up the fastest, and glared at the lifeless golem. "I'll make sure you pay for that one," he snarled, and raised up his pistols. "Come on," he said, aiming the pistols, "Dance for me." The flurry of shots from Gilder's pistols sent the creature into an exotic dance, trying its best to move its bulk away from the tearing bullets. When all was said and done though, the creature hit the dirt, its visage cracked and chest broken open, tiny pieces of rock crumbling away from it.

Meanwhile, the other golem got up and gave a growl towards Maiev. It pointed its cutlass towards her, getting ready to charge. Maiev smirked. "Bring it on." The golem charged at her, and took a huge swing at Maiev. Maiev nimbly evaded the strike and counterattacked, slicing into the rock. The creature growled and fell flat, defeated by the strike. Maiev gave a victorious laugh as the creature fell and stayed down. Tyrande and Morgan both gave sighs of relief when the creature dropped.

Vyse called over to them. "Are all of you ok?"

"Everyone that didn't get knocked out by these ancient hunks of junk," Maiev quipped, and sheathed her blade. 

"We can worry about getting everyone back on their feet after we get these jewels away," Morgan said as he knelt down beside the golem. The creatures head had twisted to the side when it fell, allowing him a clear view of the jewel encased in its eye. Morgan gripped the jewel and pulled it out, his force rolling him to the ground after he pulled it out. Morgan got up and brushed it off, intently studying the red jewel. "Beautiful...it's a real gem this one." Maiev and Tyrande peered in at the jewel as well, mesmerized by its glow. Gilder had pulled the other jewel away from the golem, but Aika had stolen it away, and her and Fina were staring at it, smiles spread across their faces.

"Wow...it's so sparkly...and shiny...and pretty..." Aika mumbled on as they continued a one-sided staring contest.

Vyse stood with his arms crossed, an exasperated look on his face. Gilder snapped his fingers at the girls, trying to break them of their trance. Domingo got the loqua back out and took a swig, glad the girls were wasting some time. Anything for a break. "Do you girls plan on staring at that gem all day, or are we going to try and find a way across?" Vyse said.

Fina snapped out of her trance. She cleared her throat and nodded. "Right, I'm guessing if you slide these gems into the pedestals the drawbridge will come down. At least that's what I'm hoping." Fina took the jewel and placed it into the pedestal. 

Aika sighed as she watched Fina take the gem. "There'd better be more of them in this place. I want to take a whole chest of them home..."

Fina placed the gem in the indentation of the pedestal. Nothing happened. Fina looked over to Morgan. "Place the gem in." Morgan nodded and slid the gem into place. The drawbridge then slowly lowered, the mechanical clank of the rusted chains screeching, bridging the bottomless gap. Fina smiled. "Well, the path to the city has opened. We can begin our journey into the city."

Domingo took another swig of loqua. "Yeah, once we get everyone up that is," he said, looking at the knocked out crewmembers. 

Fina sighed and looked to Aika. "I guess we'd better get started then..." Aika nodded and the two went about, calling upon the power of the silver moon to cast riselem upon those who had fallen.

****

Author's Note: I've started school again so the chapters will be a little slower. Please drop a review if you're still reading, it gives me extra incentive to get chapters out faster.

Thanks to Arcturus, Borknagar, Type O Negative, Fall of Empyrean, Hades, and ...And Oceans for the influential music.


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